


Through the eyes of blind love

by Mixilip1



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Comfort/Angst, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Family, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Love, Love Triangles, Marriage, Multi, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Post-Hogwarts, Post-War, Romance, Sexual Content, True Love, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Veela
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-05-10 01:43:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 146,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14727594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mixilip1/pseuds/Mixilip1
Summary: Torn between the heart and love of two souls thou shall find theeself. Post-war.Following  the war, Hermione finds herself not-so-happily dating Ron, but it seems she can't keep herself away from a certain blonde Slytherin who's determined to finally make her his witch. After hearing a prophecy about her future she thinks her life might change for good, but what she doesn't know is that the prophecy also included a veela in it."Granger, don't be nervous. Just look at me and let go." He said grabbing her chin, and her brown eyes met his.This is a story about love triangles and veelasDM/HG/SS





	1. Her

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I first posted this story at Fanfiction.net but I've seen many people changing sites due to the new terms and conditions, and I don't like it too, so I'm thinking about changing sites permanently. I left for a year but I'm returning to finish it because even though I stopped writing for a while, I kept thinking about it, so I'll post all the chapters I had at Fanfiction and I'll post my next one in 1 or 2 weeks tops :)
> 
> All rights reserved to J.K. Rowling <3
> 
> Hope you enjoy :D
> 
> P.S. This is planned to be a long story so please bare with me, and give me kudos if you like it! Also, leave comments for any suggestions or any doubt about it.

_**September 1, 1998** _

She's always had long, bushy, brown hair. Over the years, she'd learned to tame, and transform it from those puffy locks into beautiful silky curls. Those hazel ringlets with a tint of gold swayed through the thin air as if it wanted to grasp eternally the sweet smell of her perfume; a combination of lavender, vanilla, pumpkin juice, and hiding in the sweet aroma, was a touch of parchment and books. Just the way she's always been.

She had thick, mysterious, natural, and somewhat soft, dark brown eyebrows. They didn't need any plucking or coloring; they were perfect. And they stood just above her eyes.

Eyes in which it was pretty easy to get lost within. Her almond shaped eyes, which held so much emotion, told stories many people wouldn't dare to see. Her dark-brown orbs shone when the light hit them, making them even brighter.

Her small, refined and somehow perky nose stood out perfectly in between her cheekbones, spread with light freckles and with a rosy glow that had a color furthermore prominent when she blushed.

Tracing down her cheekbones were her _lips_. Her lips were soft, pink, and although they were small, they formed a small heart shape on her upper lip. The strawberry colour on her lips always stood out from her oval face, as they didn't need any artificial colour to be beautiful. They looked more tempting by the minute and even more with the habit she picked over the last few years, biting her lower lip every now and then. Those lips that traced that famous smile of hers. Her smile. Those who had seen her real, big, beautific smile could describe the feeling of happiness and fascination. The smile of hers that beamed and made her face look more lovely with every time she did it. A smile she reserved, showing it only to a handful of people.

Then there was the makeup. She didn't need any makeup or anything of the sort. Her fair skin matched perfectly with the rosy glow of her cheeks and the strawberry lips she naturally wore. Most girls envied her for that. Being blessed with a clean complexion, and with natural color was something most girls didn't have. But she did. Although, it was true that with some amount of makeup her features would stand out more, without it she was dazzling. Sometimes she would wear a soft cherry lipstick barely noticeable that made her lips even juicer; it was hard to contain oneself from kissing every bit of those lips.

Her appearance had always been tiny and gentle, she didn't eat so much it was true, but she was as healthy as any young bird could be. All the angles and curves fell into the right places. She never wore revealing clothes or anything close to it, but when she did wear a blouse with a little cleavage or a mid-high skirt, she unintentionally teased with the amount of skin and imagination she was leaving revealed. Her long, creamy legs and thin arms were excellent in proportion with the rest of her body as well as her mind, so purely brilliant harmonized with all of her.

Not that she knew any of this nor she would see herself like that.

For her, it had always been the same look; plain and boring. Her curls, although tamed, weren't as stunning or looked as bright as the hair of some of her classmates. She never wore any makeup not because she hated it or didn't need use for it, but it just didn't belong with her personality. She also didn't believe she had perfect skin, far from it. The reminder of her being simple and mundane would appear when she would sometimes catch a glimpse of the faces with pure, perfect skins that appeared in "Witch Weekly" her best friend would sometimes carry around. The reminder that told her how "perfect" skin should look. Taking away what the magazine said, she'd never felt like the most lovely flower of the bunch or even beautiful. She was just plain ordinary. She couldn't picture herself as perfect as the witches in the magazines.

But Draco did.

"Hermione! What are you doing with the git? I thought that you were going to share your head girl compartment with me!" An infuriated Ron Weasley cried out as he entered the head students compartment looking rather suspiciously at a certain Draco Malfoy.

"Ron, for the last time, he's not a git! He's been my friend for almost four years. Besides, the head compartments are to be shared by the Head boy and girl. It was expected for us to be _here_."

"Hermione love, he's the enemy don't you see?" _Love_. Ugh. Hermione's favorite word coming out from Ron's lips wasn't exactly love. She just didn't feel comfortable with him using that word to refer to her. But Draco, seeing her discomfort, smirked. _Bloody bastard_  Draco thought. After the war, it didn't last two weeks for everyone to know that two of the Golden Trio had become a couple. Draco just winced at the thought. She was just too much for him; he was everything he hoped him to be. An idiot. He just couldn't see what she saw in him. Looks? Hardly a reason. Even though the youngest Weasel could be described at some extent attractive -Draco couldn't help but gag at the words Ron and attractive in the same sentence- his looks weren't his best trait by far. Money? _Even my aunt Andromeda, who was disowned, has more than twice the amount of money the Weasley family could ever dream of having. Intelligence?_ Draco had to chuckle at his last thought. Intelligence and Ron Weasley didn't get along in the least.

"Ronald Weasley you take that back! The war is over, and that means no enemies! Besides, it was all just an awful misunderstanding!" Hermione said snapping Draco out of his thoughts, her flushed face marking the meaning of her words.

Even though Ron was her boyfriend, she wasn't going to let anyone disrespect her friends. She had become rather close with Malfoy in 4th grade. After her fight with Ron in the Yule Ball, Malfoy had taken sympathy for her and regretted the things about nobody going with her, also taking in mind (and cursing himself for that), how stunning she looked with her periwinkle dress. They began a truce between them, and it was during their 5th year when they were both prefects that they got along really well (both having traits in common). Although Ron was a big obstacle in their relationship, they both managed until the war, where their relationship was strained with Draco being "one of them". Hermione felt betrayed and stopped talking to him until after he cleared things out when the war ended. He told her he was under the Imperio Curse when he became a Death Eater, and told her too that on the night of Dumbledore's death, it wasn't him but another Death Eater under the effects of Polyjuice potion. They resumed their friendship as if nothing happened and tried to catch on lost months, but of course, her being with Ron made things way more awkward.

"Its fine Granger, Weasley can stay. I'll check in with the prefects and then see if Blaise has space in his compartment."

"Thank you, Draco." She said quietly, looking at neither of them.

* * *

 

Hermione felt like the most fortunate girl in the entire world; she finally had her own chambers, the war was over, her closest friends live to tell it, and she was with Ron. Ron… Hermione just couldn't shake the slight feeling of uneasiness that came over her when thinking about her relationship. It wasn't exactly what she'd hoped it'd be. Ron was sweet and affectionate towards her, yes, but besides the lack of conversational topics she'd have liked to share with him, something was missing. She just shrugged it off.

She was walking down the Great Hall when she found Miss Trelawney wandering just outside in the corridor. Walking a bit quicker, Hermione tried to pass in front of her without being noticed. After everything she's lived, talking with her former Divination teacher wasn't in her top priorities.

"Oh, Miss Granger how fortunate seeing you here! I thought after the war all of you lot wouldn't return to Hogwarts." Bugger. _How did she even recognise me? Well, maybe if it weren't for the war and Harry, nobody would._ She thought to herself rolling her eyes.

"Oh, Miss Trelawney! It's nice to see you here too," Hermione lied with a fake smile, "Are you still going to teach in Hogwarts?" She hoped not.

"Oh my dear, well, I won't be staying here long, but maybe a term I will," She said adjusting her large glasses to look at Hermione better. "I hear you've found yourself a boyfriend?" _For merlin's sake, how nosy is this woman! News travel fast,_  Hermione thought, _Doesn't she remember how I used to completely despise her subject?.. and her?_

"I... As a matter of fact yes I am. I'm with Ron Weasley." She said hesitating, finally deciding it wouldn't do harm to tell Trelawney a bit about her personal life. _She's still a professor after all._ She gave her a small, but polite close mouthed smile, and moved a bit forward trying to end the conversation as soon as possible. Having to bear her classmates harass her with details about her relationship with Ron was enough for her to also endure the meddling of a teacher she didn't even like.

"Ronald? Are you sure my dear? But it wasn't he who I saw in my vision." She responded, grabbing Hermione by the arm, and went still.

"Uhm… excuse me?" She asked with a frown, tilting her head to the right. "Daniel was it? I…"

"Not again.." Whispered Hermione. She just wasn't very sure why she was always the subject of prediction with this teacher. The fact that all "predictions" the daft woman had about her always ended with her utmost miserable future was one of the reasons she didn't believe in Divination. She made a face as her former professor tightened her grip on Hermione's arm and took a trance-like appearance. _What on Earth is happening?_ Hermione thought half alarmed, for she had never experienced a seer having a _real_ vision.

"Thou who won't see yet the true eyes of love, who is blinded by false infatuation. Thou shall see soon... Your destiny is not to be with your current relationship of untrue emotions. Your true destiny lies at the side of a dear devoted friend. Thou must take away you blindfold and _see_." Miss Trelawney ended and seemed to have regained control over herself, letting go of Hermione.

"Oh sorry dear, was I babbling around again?" She asked as if nothing had happened.

"You certainly said my love for Ron wasn't authentic," Hermione scoffed with an offended tone, taking a step back from her. She could've sworn she smelled sherry when the teacher grabbed her, and she remembered why she didn't like talking with this teacher. She was a drunk nutter.

"I'm so sorry if I have disappointed you, Miss..." "-Granger. My name is Hermione Granger." Hermione said exasperated with the short-term memory the woman displayed. She wasn't even sure if all of this wasn't a complete waste of her time. "But my predictions never lie, dear, was it Daniel Malroy? I really can't remember the name I saw, but I'm quite sure it had those initials, he was also certainly blonde. Oh well, there I go again. I must probably be leaving now for I have class. See you another time!" She said and left as quickly as she had intercepted Hermione.

Hermione was left dumbstruck. She just couldn't believe that after her struggle in war, a seer just told her the love of her life wasn't true love. _Bother!_ She didn't believe it. _Didn't the end of a war mean peace?_

She continued her way to the Great Hall mumbling to herself until she stomped with someone.

"Oh sorry."

"Well, you should be Granger, these shoes weren't cheap you know." Smirking above her was Draco Malfoy. Hermione looked up at him, blinking slowly and just stood there looking at him rather curiously until realisation hit her like a bludger. Blonde Draco Malfoy… Draco Malfoy...Draco Mal… D…M… blonde...!

"Oh, Dear Merlin!" Hermione was already half way towards her chamber when she heard the exclamations of the confused blonde yelling after her.

"Hermione wait!"

_This can't be._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This and the next chapter are kind of short but the following ones are long. I'll post as many chapters as I can tomorrow, and I'm still working on my grammar mistakes but I hope you all enjoyed it :D  
> P.S My next A/N won't be as long, I promise :3


	2. Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my story! If you like it please comment or give it kudos ;)  
> Five things I want to clarify:  
> 1: I didn't kill off some characters (for obvious reasons)  
> 2: Àine is an Irish goddess of summer (I think)  
> 3: I'm sorry if it stars kinda slow, but I want to give the story and all characters some depth  
> 4\. This is a love-triangle story in which sometimes one character will have more preference than the other, and viceversa, so don't fret if your character of preference doesn't get much attention, it will soon ;)  
> 5\. Enjoy!

* * *

 

He'd grown into a very handsome gentleman over the years.

He wore his sleek, soft, long, white-blond hair that reached his nape with a little quiff on his forehead; he wore it as gracefully as any Malfoy would. He had big blue grayish eyes which pierced through anyone that even dared to look at him in the eye. Their softness was reserved for only a few persons, but nevertheless were refined as always. His faced remained sharp, with pointed features that would only make him look more manly and elegant. He had arms with long and beautiful hands, gorgeous; any girl would vanish with the simple thought of being merely touched by them. His back was broad, similar to that of a swimmer, with muscles that would make you tremble if you saw them. He always had his pale light skin, but with a minuscule tint of rosy gold glow on his face. He would get that very tiny attempt of a tan when on summer, he would sometimes visit his summer house in France, influenced by the decision of his mother (she _loved_ French fashion more than food). He would get the enough sun to give him that look of "being kissed by Áine". And his scent heightened his masculinity with a small trace of oak that would remind you of late Autumn. He was an eye candy to any girl that would see him, even older females that would look at him wouldn't quite believe the hot stuff that was in front of them.

He of course, knew all that.

He took advantage of it in his earlier school years, enjoying the thought of making any girl swoon at his mere sight. He'd gone on many dates with many different girls, (which none lasted more than three dates) and had a few snoggs. And sometimes, for the very pleasure of it, he would just wink at any passing girl to see her blush and giggle. Except for her. He couldn't quite understand it at first why she didn't have the effect the other girls had. It got to a point where he would get mad at himself for it _Am I not handsome enough?_ He would sometimes think, for he'd always had the impression he could always get the girl he wanted with nothing but his looks. He even began to think she wasn't _that_ into boys. But after seeing that all his "enchantments" were merely superficial, he started to understand her better… and to fall in love with her. Many would have sworn that he was secretly a veela, for his beautiful complexion and poise, but the Malfoy family being pure-blooded, couldn't stand the thought of having mixed blood in the family line. And even less from something that wasn't entirely human. Those ideas of course, weren't so prominent now.

After the war, the Malfoy family was a little bit more... accepting in relation to the other "blood types" that there were in the world of magic. Although Draco was brought up in a family where blood supremacy and appearances were everything, he never truly had any affliction to others who weren't pure-blooded, not after he became friends with Hermione anyway. He always felt pressured to follow his father's steps; he was taught in the ideology of most old fashioned pure-blooded families: if something wasn't pure-blood, it wasn't worth to even look at. But after countless talks and different views Hermione would give him, he finally understood how wrong his family's ideology was, and began to be more tolerant of others.

* * *

 

She couldn't help herself and remembered the amount of effort and time it took to finally made some sense out of his ideologies, and the enormous success that came in the end. _Finally, a powerful wizard with that mind as brilliant as his will be up to something good… Hermione stop!_ Hermione refused to believe for even a second what Miss Trelawney had just told her minutes ago. It just couldn't be! Not that Malfoy repulsed her or she thought bad about him. In fact, the more she learned about Draco, the more she found herself fascinated with him… _Merlin just STOP! You have a boyfriend! And you love him!... Right?_

"UGH! This can't be happening! You've wanted this since 4th grade, and this isn't going to ruin it!" Hermione angrily whispered to herself while angry tears pricked the corner of her eyes. Why was she feeling this confused? If she defended her love for Ron as securely as she had done it in the encounter with Miss Trelawney, she shouldn't feel so confused like she was feeling now.

"Granger? Are you inside? Why did you went running after we bumped each other?"

Hermione just froze. She couldn't deal with him right now! She wouldn't. It was too soon! Why was he out so early in the morning in the first place? She would sometimes go for a morning walk but him? _I didn't know he was an early bird_.  Draco's knocking became louder and snapping her out of her thoughts, she had the idea that if she kept quiet maybe he would go away.

"Hermione?"

The atmosphere was silent for a few moments until Hermione heard Draco whisper "Oh sod formalities" and then " _Candy floss_ " from the other side and the sound of the door of their common room opening.

 _Oh, knickers!_ Hermione totally forgot for a second that being head students, she and Draco would have to share their common room for the rest of the year. Draco was most probably being polite by giving her some space and not just burst in the room. 

Hermione made a lame attempt at hiding as Draco crossed the portrait and entered the room only to see Hermione sprawled on the rug, trying to hide behind the couch.

"Granger? Have you gone mad? Or are you just typically mental? Grang- _What on Merlin's sake are you doing?_ " He said half amused, trying to contain a small laugh at the girl lying on the floor in front of him with her hair disheveled and like a deer in headlights.

"I.. err was looking if there weren't any pieces of leftovers on the floor. You know, the biscuits we ate yesterday are not entirely safe for Crookshanks, so I'm looking if we accidentally dropped one. I suddenly remembered so…yeah," Hermione tried very hard not to blush as she was getting off the ground. She couldn't tell Draco what she'd just heard. Not until three things happened:

1\. She was positively sure it wasn't just any fake type of prediction

2\. She decided what measures she would take on the matter

3\. The day she would catch the golden snitch

"You know the house elves clean daily right?" When she merely nodded he said "Then I will go for the latter. It being, you're completely mental." He chuckled as he got closer to her and removed one of her locks that was dancing in front of her face, tucking it behind her ear. The movement caused her to blush furiously, and she backed away reflexively. She tried to speak as not to make the moment more awkward.

"Thank you. I… I'm sorry if I startled you a bit back there. I really thought there were biscuit leftovers on the ground hidden, and feared that I would return only to find a poisoned cat on my bed." She tried to smile even though they very well knew a biscuit would only give Crookshanks a tummy ache. _Funny_ thought Draco, he knew her well enough to suspect she was lying. But why? Had he done something to her? He was determined to find out what was bothering that pretty head of hers. But he decided that would be later, right now he wanted to enjoy the gentle smile that was painted on her lips.

"I'm suspicious of your behaviour Granger. But I'll buy it. One can never be too careful with the things that are harmful to cats." Hermione sighed in relief. That was enough for her at the moment. She really needed to speak to Firenze, the only other one she could speak (and trusted) about the so-called "prediction" Miss Trelawney had, better saying the only other seer she knew.

"Have you gotten any breakfast already? I'm starving, and I don't want to arrive late to any of my classes. I don't wish to be a bad example as this year's head girl." Hermione said trying to change the subject, even though it still was pretty early in the morning to be any late.

"Uh yes, I have, I had some porridge in our common room before going out for a walk . But I'll go with you if you want. I really wouldn't mind sitting for once on the Gryffindor table, not at this hour I mean. The great Hall is still pretty empty this early on the morning."

"N-no! It's fine really. If you already had breakfast I don't want to bother you, I don't mind being alone. Besides I wouldn't like your reputation of "The Prince of Slytherin" to be damaged." Hermione said letting out a small laugh.

"Are you sure? A little gossip about me wouldn't do any harm. I can take away points from anyone I want." He said flashing that famous smile of his. Hermione couldn't avoid her heart skipping a beat when he did. _Hermione calm yourself! Just think about Ron._

"Yes, I'm sure. I am probably going to be absorbed reading the Daily Prophet anyway. And if we were to encounter Ron I… it wouldn't exactly be a pleasant encounter." She said half smiling.

Draco couldn't help but feel a little down when she said the name of the manky redhead. He also felt a little disappointed that she preferred the company of the weasel over his, but in the end he couldn't really blame her because he was her boyfriend after all, not him. If he could only steal her away from the weasel.

Draco's pensive face looked like it was important. Hermione took it as her cue to leave.

"Well, I'll be going then."

"Uh? Sorry, I was just thinking." He said shaking his head.  "Be careful of soulless gingers on the way!" He added when she was at the door.

"Malfoy don't say those things!" Hermione half laughed as she exited the room towards the Great Hall.

* * *

 

Hermione was a little refreshed after her conversation with Draco. They could usually converse on almost any topic. Their interests were more-less the same (with the exception of money and power: she obviously didn't care about those things as much as he did,) and they both loved to read. She decided she didn't actually felt any change on their relationship after the "prediction". Yes, she felt a little _confused_   when he put her lock behind her ear but besides that, she just felt the usual flow of events in their relationship. Hermione remembered in her 6th year when things with Draco went from better to worse in just a matter of months. She decided to shrug the feeling off, as her memories of that year were very irregular. Although her good memories were some of her best, there were far more of bad memories, so her 6th year wasn't exactly the best year for her.

She reached the Great Hall and saw that Harry, Ron, and Ginny were already munching on their breakfast. She smiled happily as she approach them.

"How's our head girl doing in her first week of school? I bet you've already caught 4rd years snogging in the halls." Her best friend greeted her finishing with an "ew" expression on her face.

"Hello, didn't expect you to be here so early. And no, let's just wait for that never to happen. I'm so excited that we're in the same year Ginny! Although I hate to be one year behind, I'm glad we'll be in the same classes this year." After the war both professors, Snape and McGonagall, decided to merge both 7th years and the ones who lost their last year due to the war (like the golden trio), to make it a single year. As there weren't many students in those years, they decided to do it to help students with their N.E.W.T s and encourage all of them to finish their studies. They also decided to have a shared roll being headmasters until they decided who would be the permanent one (it was easier for them, as they both could still give classes).

"Me too! I'm really happy I will see you guys in classes, more time to hug Harry." She said looking dreamily at her as he did the same. Ron just scoffed at them and continued munching on his sausage.

"I think I'll vomit from the amount of sweetness you two are generating," He said before taking a bite "and we're early because Ginny wouldn't stop being a pain in the arse about how we'll be all together in classes" Ron said with the mouth half-full making Ginny roll her eyes at him. Hermione couldn't help but feel a little sad hearing that from Ron. It's not like she would like a cheesy, corny relationship, but she too longed, as any girl would, for someone to look at her the way Harry did to Ginny. She just didn't feel the same level of passion when Ron looked at her. Maybe it was more lust? _You're just imagining things_ she thought to herself.

"Ron, you can't say that after on 6th year you spent it snogging with Lav-Lav everywhere," Harry said in defense. Ginny just gave him a nudge on his stomach as a way of saying, shut up.

"Oh, sorry Hermione, I didn't mean to…"

"No Harry its fine, really. I don't care about those things anymore." She said smiling. She meant it. Before, the mere thought of it made her cry but now, strangely enough, it didn't bother her anymore. She thought of it as a sign of maturity.

"Ok... and how has your week living with Malfoy been?"

"Yeah, I bet living with the ferret is horrible. You know love, you can change rooms, you just need to tell McGonagall." Ron added.

"No, I don't mind living having the same common room as him, we are relatively close friends. So no need to worry." Hermione smiled. She could see a faint flash of jealousy that passed through Ron's face. She just ignored it.

"I don't exactly trust the ferret love, but if you say he doesn't bite then, I'll trust you. Hey, what's your password then?" Ron said then whispered to her "So I can visit you at any time." He winked. She felt a shiver go down to her spine. _Do I really want him to visit?_ She gave herself an internal slap _Yes silly; he IS your boyfriend. You should be glad he said it._

"Hey Harry, Ginny... Ron," She said grabbing their attention "my password is Candy floss, if you ever need anything or there's an emergency, you know where my common room is."

"Candy floss? That's a pretty funny name for your password" The redhead girl said with a bemused expression.

"Well, we wanted to follow Dumbledore's tradition, and it was the only candy Draco and I loved the same and agreed it had the perfect combination of everything. So we decided to name the password Candy floss. And before you ask, yes, I do eat candy. Very rarely so, but candy floss is one of the few candy I like." _Draco_. Hermione cursed herself as she remembered how Ron hated when she used his first name. Se tried to quickly cover it up by changing the topic.

"But that doesn't matter. How's your week been? Have all of you entered the Quidditch team this year?" She felt relief wash over her as Ron's face calmed down a bit.

They continued their meal normally, talking about Quidditch (much to Hermione's dismay), the horror of having exams AGAIN, and their feeling of being "locked-up" after almost a year of spending it in the forest all alone. But even after they resumed their lives as normally as they could, Hermione couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. It didn't bother her at the beginning; she had felt it since last week, a couple of days after school started, but it was a constant feeling she had on the day. She felt like two piercing eyes would bore into her and penetrate her very soul, looking at all her secrets.

* * *

 

Hermione continued her day as regularly as she could and tried to ignore the feeling, but she couldn't avoid those pressing eyes on her. It was becoming more and more constant as the days went by.

She would suddenly turn her head to see if someone was there and.. nothing. Hermione was starting to think that maybe Draco was right. She was going mental. She tried to shrug it off, as it would sometimes subside and go. But in the end she felt the pressing eyes on her. 

At the end of her day, after returning from the library, far later than curfew, she felt those eyes again. She was aware of them when passing through the halls at the castle, and before she could blink, she suddenly turned and saw a shadow submerging in the darkness of the night.

_Who was that?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	3. Veelas and confusing answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first paragraphs of the chapter is as if it was a chapter of a book about Veelas, so its info will be used as reference in some of the upcoming chapters. The information contains bits of the Harry Potter universe about Veelas, some reference from other Veela stories, and my imagination :) 
> 
> Oh and also, when the text is in italics, it will be a memory. Of course, with the exception of the first part of this chapter, which is a "book chapter"
> 
> Give my story kudos and comment for any feedback or opinion! ;3

** _Veelas_ **

_A veela is a mythical, nymph-like, and semi-human creature who possess great power, as well as beauty. Often being of the feminine gender, it is not so uncommon to find a full-blooded male veela in the wilderness._

_Veelas are often found in swamps, lakes, prairies or places with a body of water near. They are widely spread throughout the magic world, creating veelas from all types of nationalities. Although it is important to identify, veelas are more prone to live in Europe, most notably in the northern parts. Their magic ability is such, sometimes their hair could be used in magic potions or wands._

**_Transformation_ **

_Differing from an animagus, a veela consists in only two existing forms*; they will only transform from being human to a flying creature. The winged creature could be either a beast like a Harpie or a Hippogriff (it depends on the level of magic and blood a veela possess)._

_*There have been cases where a veela, will temporarily transform in the form of a swan, a snake, a horse or even a wolf  in a way of disguise for protection purposes._

_A veela will not transform until it has reached the age of maturity, or when its mate is in a state of danger. There are three primary levels or stages for the transformation:_

_1\. The eyes of the veela will turn glossy obsidian, then, they will take out their fangs, and their skin will turn into a faint greyish colour._

_2\. They will extend and grow a pair of black wings on their back that'll reach the ground._

_3\. Afterward they will grow claws and will become stronger._

_4.  And finally, they will entirely transform into a flying creature depending on the level of magic, varying in the forms of  a Harpie or a Hippogriff. A veela in this stage can launch balls of fire from their claws._

_There are cases though, where a veela will not reach longer than the second stage. Mainly this is because a veela who can't entirely transform is not a full-blooded veela or does not have ¾ of veela blood in them. Of course, there are exceptions from half-veelas who possess enough magic to transform entirely. A human with only ¼ of veela blood, will not transform beyond the second stage regardless of how much magic they own. Anyone with less amount of veela blood in them will not go beyond the first stage._

**_Physical Characteristics_ **

_In human form, the eyes of the veela will be beautiful, with the pupil slightly more dilated than humans.The obsidian eyes will manifest depending on the veela's emotions. The most prominent being arousal and anger._

_Fangs for a veela are imperative; they are useful for them as self-defense, as well as a necessity in order to mark their mate and bond with them. A veela will not develop their fangs until they've reached the age of maturity._

_Veelas, although they can eat human food, will have the need from time to time of drink blood at least once every ten weeks. If a veela has found its mate, it doesn't represent any threat to others because they will occasionally feed on its mate only (it has been proved that it is beneficial for both of them). If a veela hasn't found its mate, it can become very hazardous; there have been numerous cases of wizards being killed by a veela driven by bloodlust. It is noted, animal blood will do, but veelas who live in the wilderness are more prone to drink human blood. Veela venom can be fatal for anyone besides their mate*. In most cases, a person who has been bitten will die in a 2-week period. Even though there is no cure, there have been cases of wizards and witches having survived a veela bite, with the only consequence of being transformed themselves into a full-blooded veela. Some charms repel veelas from attacking humans, as in most cases they are attracted to sweet odors._

_*Note that even though, a veela passes its venom into its mate, if the mate isn't a veela, the person will not transform into one._

_In human form, a veela can be an exquisite creature, this is merely to attract quickly their mate (The sharp looks of a veela also depend on their amount of blood)._

_A veela will start showing signs of becoming a full veela (more beautiful complexion, stronger, heightened senses, etc.) when it has either reached the age of maturity or found its mate._

_The typical* physical traits of a veela in human form are:_

_Tall and Slender bodies_

_Fair skin that appears to shine moon-bright_

_Blonde-white, or gold hair_

_Blue eyes_

_Beautiful complexion_

_*Of course, not all veelas possess these traits. There are veelas with a different colour of skin, hair, and eyes. This is more common in veelas who've reproduced with wizards or witches._

**_Magical traditions_ **

_Having high power in their might, the most characteristic trait of a veela is its beauty and their power to attract the opposite gender with its pheromones and magic. A veela can control their pheromones to an extent when dealing with their mate, and the veela can sometimes decide if it wants to release them. Dancing is a tradition that has been carried out by veela families through centuries. The dance of the veela is known to be magically seductive to almost all male or female beings. It is more common for a female veela to dance to attract their mate. Although nowadays most veelas live very similar as wizards do, there are still veelas who live in the wild and carry on with their ancient traditions of magic, having almost to no contact with today's society._

_Veelas are the most human-like creature from all the beasts, as they can also, reproduce with humans. It hasn't been proved if a veela can reproduce with a Muggle, but it is very common for a veela to reproduce with a wizard or witch because of the compatibility of magic._

**_Mates_ **

_The mate is very, if not, the most important thing to a veela. A veela does not choose who its mate is; a veela's mate can differ from it in social and cultural aspects, and they can also vary in the age difference of the veela. It is very rare for a veela to have a mate of the same sex, as the bond is not only spiritual but also magical. Meaning that the veela will have to reproduce at some point with their mate._

_A veela will recognize its mate with either of the five senses. Once a veela has found their mate it must bond with them before a lapse of 1 year, for else, the veela will die of a broken heart. If they haven't found their mate by the age of 25, they will also die*. Veela's mates are magically chosen under the necessity of the veela and the mate themselves, thus making them "soulmates". It is the age of maturity when a veela recognizes their mate even though they have met before, and begin its transformation towards becoming a full veela. They will become very possessive of them, and will do anything to ensure the safety and happiness of their mate._

_It is very important that a veela's mate agrees with the bonding. A veela's bite is not sufficient for the bond, if the mate does not mark them too, the bonding will be incomplete. And if the mate rejects the veela and doesn't mark them before the deadline, the veela's future is predictable._

_*This only applies to full-blooded veelas and persons with ¾ of veela blood. A half-blooded veela, if it has found its mate, will have up to 3 years to bond before dying of a broken heart if their veela blood becomes active. A person with ¼ and less, won't have the necessity as high as the others as to find a mate, but will live a shorter life because of not having a mate. If a person with ¼ of veela blood does find its mate, they will have up to 15 years to bond. There have been cases of veelas who've lived longer lives, but with poorer health. Persons with less amount of veela blood in them will not have a mate._

_It is very important to note that half veelas and 1/4 veelas will not necessarily have their veela blood and magic "active": It is possible for a half-blood veela and 1/4 veela for their blood to remain dormant for their whole lives without knowing and will live the life of a normal witch or wizard._

 

Draco could barely keep his eyes open for most of the today's lesson of DADA. He thought it was the most boring lesson he's ever had on the course. He'd never liked mythical creatures much, and today he liked them even less. Why would he want to know about Veelas and how pathetic they were at surviving at the dependency of another being? _Such a waste of magic. If they were as "powerful" as it said, then why haven't they invented something to stop them dying of heartbreak if they didn't bond with their mate?_ Draco couldn't believe why they must teach such a dull matter for today's class. From the corner of his eye, he could see Potter, also trying his best not to fall asleep in the class. _Bullocks_ he cursed internally. Today's DADA lesson had to be reduced into a reading of magical creatures being that in last period most of the classmates had passed out with their potions. The only few who didn't (Draco, Harry, Ginny, Michael, Blaise, Luna and Hermione), were sent to the Dark Arts class while the others were at the Hospital Wing. Since the number of students was relatively small, the class was purely derived from the books, so today's class was Veelas. _I can't believe this_ Draco thought. Such "effort" to pass the N.E.W.T.s and here were they, learning about the corny version of a vampire. Draco could see the only two girls who were putting attention to the class were Hermione (how unusual) and Luna. Draco shook his head and tried to put the little attention to what he had inside towards the class. He was very grateful the weasel wasn't here pestering around, but at the same time he couldn't flirt with Hermione as she did put all of her attention to her classes. He decided to send her a magic drawing that flew over her desk.

Hermione saw and caught the little flying paper bird that flew to her desk from Draco's. _Thank Merlin, the teacher, has his eyes glued to the book._ Hermione took the fragile bird in her hands discreetly and saw it had something on its inside. She carefully opened and saw a moving drawing painted over it. It had a big, ugly animal on it; _it must be the professor_ , a group of sleeping animals and a small otter, looking at the animal with interest. It resembled how Hermione was the only one who paid attention to the class. She looked at Draco with a face that read _Really?_ She silently laughed, and she continued paying attention to the class, tucking the little paper inside her bag.

She wasn't a fan of mythical creatures, but she thought of veelas with fascination up to an extent. There was also the thing with the magic and the amount of veela blood. Those played an important role too. She looked at them both with a feeling of sorrow and attraction. Sorrow because she thought it was very tragic the dark future they had to endure if they didn't bond with their mate, and attraction because they would always feel what true love felt like. Or so she thought. . _True love… will I find it someday?_ Hermione shook her head realising what she just had thought  _Stop it! The prediction was undoubtedly meant only to confuse you, nothing more._ Hermione sighed as she remembered she had an appointment with Firenze the day after. She had managed to ask McGonagall to contact him and reserve her an appointment without asking her reasons. She just made the excuse that she was doing some research and Miss Trelawney (even though being the descendant of one of the most acclaimed seers in the wizarding world) was a little shifty.

Hermione picked up her things at the end of the class when Draco lightly grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing in your next period? I remembered you wanted to go for a walk near the lake the other day." _He remembered._

"Oh, I would so very much like that, but… I was planning to go and visit Ron at the Hospital Wing. I'm going to check on him. To see if he's alright" Draco winced a little when she said that, but Hermione didn't notice. He knew they were going through some trouble now, and since school started he'd already witnessed three fights, and it wasn't even October… Looks like they've already made up…again.

"Very well, I will then walk near the lake and cry because the Gryffindor Princess could not accompany me." Draco said feigning a tear falling his cheek.

"Draco! Stop joking around!" She said laughing as she hit him lightly with her book. "It's not like I'm going to take forever, besides, we can go walk any other time" She smiled.

 _But I was only half joking…_ Draco thought.

"I would very much like to accompany you to the Hospital Wing Hermione." A petite and blonde witch interrupted Draco's thoughts.

"Of course Luna, I was just going to leave." She said to the young witch and then turned to Draco. "See you Malfoy." She said waving her hand.

"See you.." Draco couldn't help but feel a little down after his conversation with Granger.

* * *

 

"I do like helping Mdme. Pomfrey these days. I was asked to help during the war, and now it has become a habit of sorts to me. It keeps me entertained, besides the fact that I can keep the nargles away." Luna said happily as she and Hermione were walking towards the Hospital Wing.

"I can believe you," Hermione said distractedly.

"I sense there is a strong level of disconformity going on in your life Hermione. Could it be that something that is happening right now is keeping you awake at nights?" Luna said stopping her tracks.  _She knows how to read people too well for my liking,_ thought Hermione, _but I'm glad she's concerned._

"Luna… Do you believe in destiny?" Hermione said, walking again.

"Destiny? Well, although I've already had some thought about it, I wouldn't know. I could say that I may believe in it. I think that everybody's here for a reason. There's also the prophecies each one of us has. So if that's destiny then yes."

"I… Would you believe then in a destiny that it was supposed to be the right one for you, but it's hard to accept?"

"I would say yes, although I think it would be wiser to ask Harry about it. He knows everything about destiny and prophecies. After all, his life and the life of many depended on one."

"I know, and I also know that there are prophecies for each one of us but… Let's say it wasn't a prophecy _that_ important in the world of magic. What if.. it was more personal? What would you say when... for example, you thought you've finally gotten the sweet that best suits your palate, and you're _sure_ there isn't a better sweet in the world. But then, someone who says they already know your future, tells you your favourite sweet will be or is another one." Hermione finished with a little-exasperated tone, viewing it was the only way she could explain her situation.

"I believe that is your current situation yes?" She said with knowing eyes as they reached the Hospital Wing.

"I…" "Oh Miss Lovegood, good to see you again. You could start by delivering this tonic to that first year over there." Mdme. Pomfrey said, cutting-off Hermione as she gave a tray with a bottle and a cup to Luna. "And you Miss Granger, I suppose you've come to visit?"

"See you later Hermione." Luna said with a smile. She waved.

"Oh yes, could you tell me where Ron Weasley is please?" She asked politely.

"He is at the far end dear. He's much better now I must say. He's recovering the best from all who got intoxicated from your potion's class. I believe staying in the whole afternoon will do." The old lady told her warmly.

"Thank Merlin," Hermione said as she walked towards Ron.

He was half seated on the bed, with red eyes and pale skin. He was drinking something from a cup _Must be the tonic._ She thought

"How are you doing?" She asked getting near him and taking his hand in hers.

"Uhm.. better I think? I'm a little dozy now; I think it was the tonic but, blimey! Almost the whole group fell to the ground! How was DADA by the way?" He asked and Hermione took the cup from his hands and put it in the table.

"Professor Snape did warn us not to get too close to the cauldron; it is a very common side effect. And we didn't see much. Since many of you were here, we only read chapters from the Magical Creatures book. We saw Veelas."

"Oh really?" Ron was getting now a little less interested in her conversation.

"Yes, I hadn't read about them before. They're quite fascinating…and tragic. You see, I thought that a Veela would only have to find their mate, but I never knew they would die of a broken heart if they didn't! And the power they have! I believe any witch or wizard part Veela would be incredibly powerful! It's all so...  are you even listing to me?" She could see Ron's span of attention had expired, for he started to look like he was daydreaming.

"Ron!" she said shaking him.

"What was that? I'm sorry, but you know those things are not really in my interest love, besides, I'm still feeling a little weird from that potion..." She sighed. She felt a little sorry she didn't go for a walk with Draco.

* * *

Hermione walked into the green outsides of Hogwarts. She was supposed to meet Firenze in a small part with rocks near Hagrid's cabin. McGonagall told her he would meet her at four past thirty, so there she was, punctual as it usual for her.

At precisely four past thirty, she saw a dark creature approach her from the forest. She saw the tall, majestic centaur getting close to her while the air blew in their direction.

"Good afternoon Professor." She greeted and bowed a little bit.

"Please child, I am no longer a professor here at Hogwarts. You can call me Firenze." The imposing centaur said, his long torso looking bigger with the shadow of the dying sun.

"Firenze then. I am Hermione Granger, I don't know if McGonagall told you it was me who wanted to speak to you." 

"The friend of Harry Potter _I see_." He said looking at her thoughtfully, nodding in understanding. "No, she only told me it was one of her best students." Hermione blushed a little at the remark. "Now, I don't have a lot of time; I must return to my colony before my own know about my whereabouts if that's not a problem." She shook her head " Very well. Now if I can be of any service to you, what can I help you with?"

"Yes indeed. The reason I wanted to seek help from you is... I... a-a few days ago, I received unusual news." She said looking up at him, her voice nervous.  "And though I wasn't completely distraught, it did make me uneasy. It was about my future." She chuckled nervously.

"I know this will sound very much like a typical girl with her pesky problems, but, I do feel the decisions I will make about the matter may completely change my life in the near future. And it's not that I'm afraid of it, well maybe a tad, but what I meant to say is," Hermione said after hearing she was rambling "I have boyfriend right know, Ron Weasley, and I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with him, and that I loved him. But Miss Trelawney gave me this "prediction" of hers, saying my love for him isn't authentic, and I will end up with Draco Malfoy because it's my destiny and my way through happiness. And I am really bewildered right know about my feelings, because I don't know if her prediction was accurate, or if my feelings for Draco have changed, and… and.. I don't know anymore!" She said in frustration, finally snapping. _Calm down Hermione, you don't want to scare him_ She sighed. "I came to you because I don't know anybody else who can help me." She said with more calm. "It's not something you can just find in books."

"Hmmm, you are correct in that." He said pensively " But don't look so dejected on the matter, there's no need to worry yourself. Did you know seers can look into the memories of others by touching them?"

"Yes sir, I did know that."

"Give me your hand child. I will see into your past and future and hope to give you a more precise answer." She nodded and gave him her hand as he closed his eyes. He grasped it with both hands as a faint white light emerged from his hands. She felt tiny voices around her and heard the sounds of her memories. Then, she heard nothing when a golden glow, replacing the white one emerged from his hands. She heard nothing. _He must be seeing the prediction Miss Trelawney saw._ Firenze looked at her memories of the past weeks. All the fights, the awkward moments, and laughs she'd shared with the young boys passed through his eyes. Then, he saw what Sybill had seen in her future. He indeed saw the same thing as her. They stood her several moments until he opened his eyes and let go of her hand.

"What did you see?" She asked expectantly

"Well Miss Granger, I must say Miss Trelawney was undeniably correct, regarding her prediction about yourself. I don't want to intervene in your personal affairs but, I did saw you far more happy with Mr.Malfoy than your current relationship with Mr. Weasley." Hermione was left speechless. The idea of _loving_ Draco, surprisingly enough, didn't bother her. What _did_ bother her was the fact that now her mind was playing tricks on her by making her believe she loves Ron. _If I don't supposedly love him, did I ever?_ She began to hyperventilate mentally as she thought of all the times her mind deceived her. Firenze, seeing her distress told her,

"Don't crush yourself child. I'm sure you do love Mr. Weasley, besides, not all prophecies become a reality. The prediction said that you have to remove your blindfold and see the love your blind eyes will not let you. Your are most probably confusing the type of love you hold towards Mr. Weasley into believing it's a romantic one."

Hermione nodded her head.

"Yeah, I-I'm very grateful for your aid sir. It has actually helped me." She said smiling.

"It was a pleasure helping you. I sometimes need some fresh air from my colony. Goodbye Miss, and send my greetings to McGonagall."

"I will surely."

* * *

Hermione sat in her Transfiguration class thinking about the events of the day before. She felt embarrassed that someone who didn't know her told her she would be happier with Malfoy than with Ron.  _Could I trust Firenze? I mean- there can't be two seers with the same wrong prediction can't they?_ She sighed. _Not all prophecies become a reality… maybe if I.. no, it's not possible._ She knew that if she forced things it wouldn't be a real relationship. She still wanted to give her relationship with Ron a go, she thought it wasn't fair for them to just abandon the deal. _I can't just leave him_

Draco sat few desks behind her, watching her. She'd been more reserved with him the past few days. And even though he'd tried to see if she was doing something secretive or something of the sort that would explain her attitude towards him, he was always left empty handed. _Maybe that red berk forbid her from speaking to me. I hope not. No, she wouldn't let herself be manipulated like that._

Both witch and wizard were so deep in thought, they didn't see the headmaster come into the room. She had the enormous gramophone, the same one she had brought when rehearsing for the Yule Ball. They both got startled by it.

"My dear 7th and 8th graders, seeing this is your last year here at Hogwarts, and we've just won one of the most important wars in the magic realm, I am glad to announce that we'll be having another Yule ball. This ball is a mere celebration from the school to every single one who fought with bravery at the war." Everyone gasped at the idea. The room was full of exciting yelps and murmurs. She cleared her throat and continued, "I've had the idea that since many of you haven't improved in the area of dancing. I'm hoping that this particular class will refresh your minds a little bit about dancing as well as sharpen your skill at Transfiguration. What I want you to do is, choose a partner, male or female, and while you are dancing whichever style you prefer, I want you to transfigure the objects that are around you." Some students chuckled and McGonagall pierced her eyes. "You may think of this as a silly activity, but we can't be behind the school program and I can't let you make a fool out of yourselves like _some_ of you did years ago. So I'm joining the activities.  Now, I must tell you, to get a good grade you must not stumble or get a transfiguration wrong. Am I clear? Good. Now who'll be our first participants?"

P _lease don't pick me, please don't pick me, please don't pick.._ "Miss Granger! Why don't you make the honours, being the head student after all." "Brilliant" muttered Hermione as she reluctantly moved from her desk to the center of the room, where several tables were moved in order to make space, and several random objects were sprawled over the floor.

"If you please choose a partner." Hermione's eyes shot directly towards Draco. _Don't be a nutter, Ron is your boyfriend._

"Ron," She said looking at him "Here, let's do the exercise," She said smiling.

"Uhh, 'Mione as much as I would like to, I don't. Don't make me do this, I _loathe_ dancing. It was enough humiliation with McGonagall in our fourth year" He muttered so that McGonagall didn't hear them. Hermione's disappointment was evident in her face. She tried to hide it but was unsuccessful. She suddenly felt her hand being grabbed, and she turned only to see Draco Malfoy grinning at her.

"May I have this dance?" He asked in an exaggerated tone. She didn't think twice when she said. "Yes, you may".

As soon as they both started dancing, music began to play. It was a melodic, classical music but with a modern touch. She was a little stiff in the beginning, not wanting to get too close to him.

"Granger, I know you've been avoiding me these past few days." He whispered to her, "But I want you to try and let go." Hermione remembered that day in her 6th grade when she saw Ron snogging with Lavender very enthusiastically in the Gryffindor common room after the Quidditch game.

_Hermione couldn't believe it. She'd thought she had tried every single thing to attract Ron's attention. She'd thrown at him several hints about her feelings, she'd invited him to Slughorn's Christmas party (although he rejected her), and she'd even wore a little makeup to make her "prettier" every other day. It seemed it hadn't worked out._

_Draco was the one who almost immediately knew about the weasel and the stupid blond girl. They were pretty much snogging in every corner of the castle. Right after he saw them, the day after, his first thoughts were Hermione And he spent the day looking after her._

_After Quidditch practise (they hadn't done much) he found her sitting at near the Black Lake, looking like she'd just cried her eyes out._

_"Hermione? Are you okay?"_

_"Oh, Draco I didn't realise you were there. Yes, I'm quite alright thank you."  She said avoiding his eyes, "I-I must be really leaving now, I don't want to be  too late in here, it's getting dark." She said standing up from the stone bench she sat._

_"Granger, it's barely 5 o'clock, it's a Saturday, and no you're not alright." He said getting closer to her and grabbing her chin with his gloveless hand._

_"I knew you liked him" He could see fresh tears adorn her lovely face of hers once more._

_"He's a prat you know?"  he said,"Why?" she asked looking up at him with glassy eyes._

_"For being with a girl who is far below our dear Gryffindor Princess." He said with a smile._

_"Malfoy…don't joke around," She said stepping a little bit backward and chuckling a bit. "I really do believe she's far prettier than me… "Come here" He said cutting her off._

_"Uh? Where are going?" "For a ride," He said summoning his broom and jumping on it._

_"Draco you know how I feel about flying…"_

_"Just shush it and hop in."_

_Hermione had her eyes closed when they took off and strongly grasped Draco's waist with her hands. She really hated flying. If she could avoid it, she would at any time, she much preferred apparating._

_Draco felt Hermione's tense body by the way she was crushing him and her chattering teeth. He decided to go a little bit higher so that the wind could wash away her tears._

_"Granger, listen to me. I know you hate flying, but I recommend you to open your eyes. Don't fear the moment, live it. Just open your eyes and let go. You'll see how beautiful the view is up here, and you'll gain a little peace in yourself." Hermione slowly opened her eyes as she saw the Black Lake under them and could see the beautiful horizon as the sun was setting. She loosened a little bit her grasp on Draco as she laughed at how free and secure she felt with Draco's presence._

_"You see? You just have to open your eyes and see."_

They began dancing to the rhythm of the music as they began transfigurating the objects. They were both laughing and not caring about anybody else in the room.

She saw his beaming smile as he looked at her. She blushed a little and turned, transfigurating an object in the way. _Have I had my eyes closed all this time?_ She turned and saw he was still looking at her while transfigurating an object perfectly without looking right at it. She laughed. She was indeed having a good laugh with this exercise. There was a part of the song when they both got closer and were turning around looking at each other. _Maybe the idea of falling in love with him is not that bad... or could it that I already am?_  They continued dancing until someone jerked her off Draco, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Well, I believe that has been a lot of dancing and laughing for a day." A furious Ron Weasley said dragging Hermione off and facing Malfoy.

"Well, weasel, it's not my fault you're not making _your_ girlfriend happy." That was it. Ron threw a punch at Drac's direction, but he stopped it with his hand. "Shut up you ferret" he spat.

"But we were having such fun." He said smirking while they were both struggling. Ron just got more enraged and tried to punch him once more, the music abruptly stopped and Professor McGonagall approached them looking furious.

"That's it! I can't believe you two young men. I was hoping you would be a little more mature, even more since you're the oldest students." McGonagall said, interrupting the almost fight. Hermione, being at the center of the room, was speechless

"If you can't behave then I recommend you to get out of my classroom." Seeing that neither of the boys responded she just sighed and said,

"Just sit at the two corners of the room until after the class has ended. And no more fighting." she said with menacing eyes. Hermione just saw as every single pair of eyes was now on her.  _Oh Bullocks_

* * *

 

He'd been watching over her since school has started. He never had any hopes of his veela blood to become active, and he'd never had any hopes of finding her mate ever in his life. And even less in the most unexpected place on Earth: Hogwarts.

He recognized her scent on the very first day when she passed, and he couldn't keep his head straight with that intoxicating smell of hers. After he finally found who the mystery girl was, all his thoughts were plagued with only one word:  _Hermione…_ At first he couldn't believe, that such witch could be his mate. He of course, couldn't do anything about the matter. Not only was she part of the Golden Trio, but she was young, _very young_. But none of those things mattered to him anymore, not since his bloody veela magic decided she was his mate. Only one thing was in the way. She was with Ron. That bleeder, Gryffindor boy. He couldn't just pop in and take her away in his arms. Well, he didn't have enough confidence, besides to the point that it would probably be against her will, and that would make her unhappy. He cursed himself day after day when every single moment of it, he'd spend thinking of her. So he began following her. He knew, after some time that she'd been suspecting that someone was following her. He couldn't tell her just yet who he was, she would probably be disgusted by him and would flee from him forever. _If he could just make her closer to him…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


	4. Secret admirer or?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've uploaded this chapter on the same day I uploaded the last, if there's any confusion.
> 
> Please enjoy and give it kudos!

It had started with her smell. Her perfume. That sweet scent that was the genuine signature of her presence in any room. The combination of lavender, vanilla and a tingle of pumpkin, penetrated his nostrils and filled his mind and thoughts of her. Every time he entered a room or an area with her in it, he couldn't ignore her presence at all. _He couldn't even turn his head away from her anymore._ He was beginning to have trouble not only in his sleep but also in his concentration during the day. She filled every room she would enter with a mouthwatering, intoxicating scent. Of course, only _he_ was capable of perceiving her scent as strong as if he was hiding his face on her brown curls. _Curse this fucking part veela of me!_ He wanted to regret it. Wanted to take away this "curse" which only enslaved him to the witty nymph. But he knew he couldn't. Not after the first time, he knew she was his mate.

_It was September 1st, the day when Hogwarts' term starts. Over the summer, he'd removed the amber pendant he'd always wore under his robes since little after his seventeenth birthday, hiding his veela inheritance. His mother had told him he was ¼ veela, his great-grandfather from his mother's side, being a full-blooded veela. She'd then told him his great-grandfather had been bitten by one, and that's how he chose his great-grandmother. His mother was a half veela, but her blood was inactive, dormant; so she didn't develop any veela powers or had a mate whatsoever. She was just a plain, "pureblood" witch. It was then, on his 17th birthday when the little amount of veela blood on him began awakening._

_"There are those who are born unfortunate even though they haven't wronged. I was hoping, given the quantity of your veela inheritance is low, the gene would've stayed dormant in you. I am sorry my child. I believe your life will be much shorter now if you do not find your mate." She'd told him. He'd new everything about veelas by then. Magical Creatures wasn't his favourite subject, but his family had indulged him into every single detail known about veelas. Mate? Me? Sod real love, there is none for me! He'd thought. He didn't feel loved. He couldn't be. He was cursed, and for what he knew, love wasn't meant for him. "If my life's to be shorter, so be it!" He'd angrily shouted at his mother as he stormed out into the rain, desperately looking for something that could prevent his veela blood from awakening any further. _

He looked at the amber pendant that laid in his nightstand drawer. _I don't need this anymore._ He remembered grimly at the memories of the sad expression on his mother and the hard face of his uncle. He had gave him the pendant magically charmed, lessening his veela powers from emerging as well as suppressing his ability to find his mate, making his life a little longer on the way. He'd wore it over the years almost every single moment (even when asleep) dreading he would find his mate, only to be left heartbroken (again) and die alone in the end. He much preferred just to die alone. Over the summer, he realized the prospects of ever finding his mate were almost null, feeling the necessity of wearing the amber pendant was no longer needed. _E_ _ven if I did had a mate, she was most probably killed during the war._ He pretty much lost any hope of ever finding a mate. That's what he'd thought until he smelled her. At first, when he felt her in the Great Hall the first night, he couldn't stand it. He had to excuse himself and fled towards his chambers to escape the overwhelming, intoxicating scent. He knew it was his mate. It must be. He felt his blood boiling in his veins and his senses sharpening, seeing his eyes had turned a metallic black on the mirror. _I'm damned, and no pendant can stop this now._

He'd spent the next few days, having the pendant on and off, searching who was his mystery girl. Until one night near the library, he smelled the beautiful aroma of lavender. It was her. He hid in the shadows and silently followed the scent until he reached the source. He almost passed out when he finally found out who his mate was.

* * *

 

Hermione sat on the edge of her bed dreading to go out of her room. She'd been avoiding both Draco and Ron for the past two days, and she wasn't ready to face the show. Or rather face them. She just slipped away after the scene Draco and Ron had put in there. She knew, of course, that everyone would be asking her and keep talking about it. _Are you secretly seeing Draco? Have you broken up with Ron? Have you heard Hermione has two wizards after her? The Slytherin prince with the Gryffindor princess?_ She just couldn't stand it. She decided she would spend the rest of her day reading in the peacefulness of her room.

After 9 hours of staying inside her room, she began to feel hungry. Sometimes when she read her books, she would forget about everything else and just immerse herself in them. But it was already 5 o'clock, and she hadn't eaten since 7 in the morning. She tried to see under the crack of her door if Draco wasn't anywhere near to go out and grab something to eat. She slipped off her shoes and tried to be as quiet as she could. She didn't know if Malfoy was in his dorm and she didn't want to know. She went down the stairs and silently went to their common room towards the door. She accidentally stumbled with a bureau placed in between 2 armchairs and let out an involuntarily "Ouch" before dropping one of her shoes she was holding. She cursed herself and prayed the blonde boy didn't hear her. She successfully continued her way to the main door and by the time her hand reached the doorknob…

"You know there are silent spells and charms you could've used if you didn't want to get caught right?" She could almost _feel_ the smirk forming on the face of the blonde boy. _Why on earth didn't I think of that before?_ She turned so very slowly and looked up to see he was at his door.

"I-I thought you might be asleep and I didn't want to intrude you. Besides, I didn't think a Muffliato would be needed." She then proceeded to put on her shoes, as now her little attempt to escape unseen was a failure.

"For being the brightest witch of our generation, you really should've thought about it before, Granger." He smirked. "But anyway, you've been avoiding me." _Straight to the point, as always_ thought Hermione, "And I've realized that you also have been avoiding the red twat," he said taking a more serious tone.

"I-I haven't! You imagine things! I just… I have been tired lately, and we must study for N.E.W.T.s, so I'm just using my spare time to study and catch up reading. That's all." She hoped her lying skills had improved after their capture with the Death Eaters. She convinced them for a moment she was someone she wasn't. So why wouldn't it work this time, over something so silly? She guessed the grin that began creeping into his mouth said she wasn't made for lying. Trying to hide her blushing face from him she turned around and decided she would go instead to the library.

"If there's nothing else to say, then I'm off to the library." She tried to put a tight face and reached the doorknob when her stomach rumblings gave her away. _Oh, brilliant, just in time!_ She thought sarcastically.

"Oh really, the library? Granger, I heard your stomach up to here, you're not fooling anybody with that "tough" look in your face." He went down the stairs and moved closer to her.

"And don't give me that "spare time" speech." He said before she could retort. "Besides the fact N.E.W.T.s are months away, you sit the furthest away from everyone in class, practically run after classes towards Merlin knows where, and hide when we do find you. Over the past two days, no one has seen your presence. Not even I, who is sharing the common room with you. You've also skipped meals, and it's not healthy Granger. So, stop saying "that's all" when it clearly isn't." he didn't realize he had her almost caught against the wall. He could see how close her lips were. Plumped and rosy. She bit her lip as she always did when nervous. _I've known you long enough to guess I was right, but Merlin Granger stop doing that! It's so tempting!_ He mentally fought the urge to kiss her right there on the spot. _Calm yourself. You're a Malfoy, and not only you're a gentleman; this is not the time!_ She looked up at him and the locked eyes. Brown and Blue. They stared at each other's eyes for a few moments, taking in all of their windows of the souls could give, enchanting them with mutual attraction. They both leaned in a little and before anything could happen. Hermione snapped into reality. _I don't know how many times must I repeat it to you. You. Have. A. Boyfriend!_ And at the same time he thought, _I was SO close! Why must she always do the right thing of snapping away from our little world?_ _Little World?_ Now he was becoming cheesy.

She looked down, breaking eye contact. "I'm sorry, I haven't been honest with you. I think what happened the other day was just too much for me. I _really_ don't like gossip about me, and even though I know I shouldn't care, it still creeps its way through me and makes me anxious." She remembered the awful times she spent in fourth year when Rita Skeeter wouldn't leave her alone, she shrugged off the though, "I'm still mad at you" she continued with piercing eyes. "and Ronald. You both acted like children!" She said breaking off the awkward situation hitting him in the arm. "Although I guess I'm madder at him. He didn't respond when I asked him to dance with me. You could say he started it." She said with a gloomy face.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You got saved just in time by the Slytherin prince." He flashed a smile at her. "I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you." He could already see her smile once again. He enjoyed her smile very much. He found out more and more he wanted to do it more constantly.

She was about to respond when they both heard her stomach rumble once more.

"Come, I'll accompany you to grab something to eat. I wouldn't like my bushy bookworm to pass out from lack of food." _His bushy bookworm?_ Hermione made no attempt at questioning him, but the thought lingered in her mind.

* * *

 

Hermione sat next to Ginny at her potions class and gave Harry an apologetic look with a wave of her hand. She didn't feel like talking to Ron right now, and she felt even less like sitting next to Draco. Hermione could already feel the judging looks from the others in the room as well as their continuous murmurs. She decided she would ignore them and just go with the flow. Apparently, being her "famous" now, and the school being more-less empty, everybody knew the little "show" her boyfriend and her best friend performed in Transfiguration.

She sighed. Ginny, hearing this asked, "So being the object of conversation it's not going so well huh?"

"Ginny, I just hope it goes away as every other gossip has. People have been misinterpreting my personal relationships way over since pretty much my whole stay here at Hogwarts. I wouldn't be surprised if they still did even though I'm with your brother."

"Oh come on Hermione, he may be your boyfriend _and_ my brother, but he's still a tosser sometimes. I would _totally_ understand you if you left him for someone better looking or… smarter." Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "Oh Gin, this is why you're my best friend." She continued laughing "But I can't picture any other guy beside him." _Liar._

"You really can't? How about that blonde hottie who just happens to be meddled in the center of the gossip with a witch in-between… oh, wait that's you!" She said whispering and giggling. "Shush it Gin, don't say those things! I'm dating your brother! Besides, I don't picture myself with Malfoy at all." _Liar liar, your bums on fire…_

"Yeah, And my hair is black. Hermione please, even though Malfoy is not my favourite person at Hogwarts I've honestly seen you laugh more times with him than with my brother. And I don't really interact much with him for the matter."

"I… that's not true! It only shows I'm as serious with your brother as he is with me." Hermione couldn't stand the look of _Are you completely serious?_ Ginny was throwing at her. "Ok, ok, maybe I do laugh a little bit more with Draco, but that doesn't mean anything! We just click you know? Like, we have so many things in common, more-less the same type of humor, he also loves to read…" _Those eyes.. his big smile that makes me shiver…_ Hermione couldn't help but remember the prediction Trelawney had made for her. She began to think dreamily of a particular blonde friend of hers as the prospects of having him as a boyfriend wouldn't be so bad.

"And you're going to tell me that dreamy face of yours contradicts my last statement? I think you were just blinded and chose the wrong boyfriend." _Blinded?! "Thou who won't see yet the true eyes of love, who is blinded by false infatuation…"_ Hermione remembered the words of the seer just after her best friend finished talking.

"Hey, it's not what…" She was cut off by Professor Snape entering the classroom. Everybody suddenly stopped what they were doing and kept silent. Almost in unison. Nobody dared to look at him right after he entered the room, as when someone did, it would most probably end up with a complicated question; house points being removed depending on their answer. But today Hermione couldn't look down as everyone else did. She felt those _eyes_ again. Those eyes that would bore into her and make her not only tremble but shiver at the mere feeling of being watched. She tried to look all around the room (avoiding Snape's sight) to see if anyone was looking at her. _Who is looking at me?_ For some reason, she felt the sensation stronger now more than ever. Ginny must've felt her anxious state because she just grasped her arm quickly enough before she could fall from her stool. "Thanks" She muttered to her redhead friend, but she kept looking. Hermione tried every single desk to see in anyone was looking at her way, but no one was. When she finally decided to look up to the professor, he cut off the silence treatment from the class.

"Before I take any house points today, you will attempt at making Baruffio's Brain Elixir. And If I catch a single one of you trying to drink it, don't expect less than a month of detention with me, as well as 50 points less." Hermione was relieved that class started, as she no longer felt the intense stare she was now feeling more and more. She hadn't told anybody about it; she would just be told she was "hanging too much with Loony Lovegood." Hermione hated the nickname most students would call her; she was one of the sweetest girls she'd ever met. She felt the stare along the class, but it would sometimes subside when she concentrated more on her potion.

Draco was more self-confident today than any day before. He was sure Hermione not only felt affection towards him but something more. The way she had looked at him and the fact she almost fell for his lips proved that she felt something for him too. It was only matter of time that would decide when was he finally claiming his Gryffindor princess away from the stupid weasel _After all this time being apart..._

After potions class, all of the 7-8 graders had a free period, and Draco decided he would spend it with his bushy bookworm. _Since when have I been calling her that? I think Granger is rubbing some of her madness into me._ He kept looking at her after potions class, it had ended quite early, as now the majority of the potions classes have been (something strangely uncommon). But he lost her when she practically ran out of her classroom with the weaselette.

"Seriously Hermione, the person whom you are thinking of, is not going to catch us! You've practically dragged me to the other way of the castle!" Ginny said trying to keep up with Hermione, who finally came to a stop.

"Besides," She said taking a breath "I didn't get a chance to say hi to Harry. He must've looked at me back there."

"Sorry for that. It's just…"

"I understand if you don't want to see my brother. He's a twat anyway." 

"Well, I wasn't going to say that, but yes, he's also that. No, the reason I dragged you here, was to _get away._ "

"Away? From whom?"

"I don't know! Partially I wanted to avoid your brother but, Gin, since the year school started, I have this feeling of being _watched_. From time to time, I can almost feel in my skin the dark stare that won't go away. It is stronger when I'm alone, but in today's potion class I felt it stronger than other days."

The redhead looked at Hermione as if she'd just told her the most mental news she's ever heard of.

"Are you serious?" She couldn't hide the surprise and dumbstruck expression on her face. Hermione nodded.

"Dear Merlin! Do you know what this means? You must have a secret admirer! Not only you have a boyfriend and a very handsome wizard after you, but you also have an admirer!"

"Ginny stop saying that! First, I don't think your brother is very much into me anymore. Second, Draco and I are ONLY friends, nothing more. And lastly, I don't have a secret admirer! The stare just creeps me out! What if it's a girl who wants to harm me?"

"What if it is not?"

"Which side you're on?"

"Look, the thing we know is your secret admirer or whomever, is in our potions class, yes?" Hermione sighed while nodding. "I think so, I believe that's also where I've felt the stare the most."

"That shrinks the list a lot more. Now we only have to find out who is the one with the stare." _But I thought I've looked at everyone in the room. And there was no stare from anybody… Am I just imagining things?_

"Hey, Hermione!" Both witches looked to see Harry and Ron walking their way.

"Oh, bugger! I guess I can't hide from him forever." She sighed "Could we keep this between us Gin?" Her best friend nodded vigorously. _This is going to get ugly…_ thought Hermione as Ron and Harry got nearer, the read-head looking madder than ever.

* * *

 

Draco had looked everywhere for Hermione. Half of the time of their free period was over, and he'd found nothing. He decided he would instead look for Blaise, who wasn't a ghost and went disappearing. He paced a few halls looking for his friend when he finally heard the voice of Hermione a few steps ahead.

"I've told you, Ronald; I am not cheating you with anybody! You just happened to be a prat, and the consequence to that was the reaction of Draco." Draco could now see the rather loud conversation Granger and Weasel were having. Both Potter and the Weaselette were awkwardly looking at them from a safe distance, trying to keep prying eyes away from the scene that was about to erupt.

"And how do I know that? I've seen you Hermione, how you _look_ at the ferret and how you act all giddy when you're around him." Hermione looked quite displeased with his words because now the lovely witch was washed over with a shade of pink and her breathing began to thicken.

"I act around him like if he were any other friend! I think I act the same way with Harry, and I don't see you get mad at him!" Ron seemed taken aback.

"I… well that's different."

She scoffed. "Different? In what way exactly may I ask? I thought in the definition of what a friend is, it doesn't specify you have to treat friends better than others."

"Well, yeah but Harry is like our brother! Malfoy is the enemy!" Harry was indeed like the brother Hermione never had, but she wasn't going to take the fact Draco was something very similar to that. Not in a brotherly way… but similar.

"Again with the enemy! You know how much that bothers me! He's not the enemy, he's my friend, and I just because you're jealous doesn't mean I must stop interacting with him!" Her face now was flushed from the heat of the argument.

"I am not!" Ron almost spat. "If you defend so much your ferret, why don't you just go away with him? I think I have better things to do." Hermione's jaw dropped. She knew the Weasley temper was the one talking, but she couldn't deny the words _did_ come out of Ron's mouth. And the words hurt. A lot.

"Speak for yourself weasel, you're nothing but a coward." Hermione turned only to see the blonde wizard standing near behind her.

"You just simply can't keep your manners with the ladies for more than 5 seconds can you? Oh wait, I forgot. You have none." Draco smirked, passing Hermione and standing face to face with Ron.

"You have nothing to do here!"

"As I matter of fact I do. It seems you have mentioned my name several times, and I believe something of the sort is my business."

"You're not wanted here. Just get out and go look for daddy and those death eaters friends of yours back in Azkaban." That was it for Draco. His body was ready to aim the first punch, but he decided against it. _Do it for her, she wouldn't like for us to fight._

"Do. Not. Speak. About. My. Father. And I am no longer one of them. I have changed for the better. But I can't say the same thing for others. It is not a surprise you would hurt your girlfriend… _again_. How many more times are you planning to break her heart, _Weasley_?" In the other hand, Ron didn't think as Draco. His temper was just above the boiling point.

"That's it Malfoy, you asked for it!"

"No, Ron wait!" Hermione desperately tried to stop the fight between the two but failed miserably as Ron's knuckles collided with her lip. Hermione fell backward and was caught just in time in the arms of Draco before she could fall. Her head was throbbing, and she tasted blood from her lower lip.

"You bastard! Look what you've done to her! _Classy_ Weasley, fighting like a Muggle." After Draco had checked Hermione didn't have any visible injury besides her lip, he tried to wipe off the blood from her mouth with his robe.

"No Malfoy, I think is better if you take her with Mdme. Pomfrey. She may have a concussion or something of the sorts." The Weasley girl told him.

"'Hermione love… I'm so sorry, Hermione." Ron was shaking as Harry softly pulled him away from both Draco and Hermione to give them some space.

"She clearly can't hear you, you gormless," Draco said as he lifted her and made his way towards the Hospital Wing.

* * *

 

"This is definitely going to leave a scar," Hermione said moaning a little as Draco put a wet cloth over her lip. They were in a somewhat isolated part of the castle, late in the afternoon, sitting at the bottom of spiral stairs with a small stained-glass window at its side, letting enter a bit of reddish light into the stairs.

"Good thing you don't have anything else." He said carefully touching her face with the wet cloth.

"Yeah, Madame Pomfrey was lucky to still have an anti-inflammatory potion with her. Luna told me the other day, after the war, almost all inventory of medical potions and medical instruments were gone. And Hogwarts is still in the process of filling in the inventory before anything too disastrous happens to a student." Draco chuckled a little.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, your friend Looney- I mean Luna. I think Blaise has something for her. He spent the whole summer talking non-stop about her bravery and all the stuff she did in the war. I barely could stand him." It was the turn for Hermione to let out a chuckle.

"Oh. Well, if I'm correct, she's still single, but I think she had something going on with Neville."

"Toad boy? I haven't seen him around here. I was glad I didn't hear his cries another year of how he'd always lose his frog." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"That was only in first year! And he will come, but maybe after Christmas. He almost finished his seventh-year last term, and Professor McGonagall will let him come to do his N.E.W.T.s only. But I believe he told me he wanted to come for a few months." Hermione winced a little at the feeling of the cloth.

Draco then saw the gloomy expression that overcame her face moments after she remembered why he was putting a wet cloth over her lips.

"Hey," she looked up with her glassy, brown orbs.

"He's a prat you know?" He said remembering the day in their sixth year. She smiled and then sighed.

"I know but, I feel like he's right in some way. I haven't been the best girlfriend these past few weeks."

"How come?"

"I don't know I just.. I haven't felt like myself lately, and I have all these mixed emotions and I'm so confused, I-"

"Hey," Draco said placing his hand on her knee. "I'm here alright?"

"Thank you Draco," She sighed, "But anyway, I do believe Ron's behaviour hasn't been helping at all. He's so angry all the time, he always gets bored when I talk to him, and I don't really feel much help or affection from him. Sometimes I even feel like we're not even dating." Hermione said hugging her arms around herself.

"Then why are you still with him? It is obvious he doesn't deserve you."

"Draco…" She looked up at his handsome face. _He must really care about me to do this._

"I… sincerely don't know. I've always thought he was my one true love, and the feeling would be mutual but… I'm beginning to see how wrong I was. Maybe sometimes friends are meant to be nothing more." Draco touched her cheek, and she jumped at the movement.

"You have redness on your cheek, at the side of your lips." He carefully caressed the spot.

"Oh." She couldn't say more. She didn't know if it was redness of the bruise or if it is was a blush that began to creep in her cheeks.

"You know… You're the most beautiful witch I've ever seen Hermione." _He almost never calls me that…_

"If I were your boyfriend, I wouldn't even touch you with a rose petal… and would always cherish you." He said looking at her eyes and slightly touching her lip with his thumb.

"I like the thought. It looks promising." She smiled leaning in a bit at the touch.

"Maybe… the only thing we would have to do is try..." Draco was deeply entranced with her eyes.

"I wouldn't mind trying…"

Just as their lips brushed, Draco was yanked away rather forcefully from his collar by a hand. They were so entranced by the moment they didn't notice the black figure that appeared behind them.

"Bloody hell, what is your prob-" Draco was cut off when he saw _who_ was holding him.

"I was hoping to see some decency from the head students in the halls of Hogwarts. Not defiling them!" Professor Snape's face was hidden in the darkness, but Hermione could've sworn she saw that his eyes were, including the white of his eyes, black as carbon.

"Snape in case you didn't know, it's called kissing, or rather an _attempt_ of a kiss." That only enraged the teacher more as he yanked him further away from Hermione.

"I will not tolerate this act of insolence! Less coming from you. You're coming with me." He called Hermione, not looking at her. "I suggest you return to your dormitory, _Miss Granger._ " He then proceeded to drag Draco away from the little space they were back into the hallways. Hermione sat alone on the stairs and realized she was holding her breath through the whole incidence of Draco and Professor Snape. Her face was flushed from moments before, and she couldn't still quite process what just happened with them. _What in Merlin's sake just happened?_

* * *

 

Draco couldn't understand the harshness of his godfather towards him. As far as he knew, kissing was far from prohibited in Hogwarts. In fact, he'd done worse things towards maidens in Hogwarts, and he knew Snape was well aware of that. Then why the sudden reaction when he attempted to kiss Granger? I _t wasn't even a snog! Bloody hell, it wasn't even a kiss! Is it because we're head students? No, I've never heard of head students being prohibited from kissing or dating each other, that sounds mental!  In fact, if I'm not wrong, I believe Potter's parents were head students…I'll look it up later._ After they were a rather far distance from Hermione, Draco could see Snape putting on discreetly a necklace of sorts. He couldn't see very well what it was, but it apparently made his godfather look calmer than before. He didn't dare to question him about it; it wasn't the moment. He made a mental note about asking him later.

"May I have a reason as for _why_ was I dragged away from a beautiful lady I was about to kiss?" Draco didn't realize his words made Snape flinch.

"No, you may not. And you better stop this acts of indecency before you're the very first student of Slytherin I take house points from. Or worse, remove you from your Head Boy status. If you're kissing in the halls, I don't want to even know what things you could do in the Head student dormitories." He stopped and looked over Malfoy. "Now, I  suggest you too return to your dormitory and behave like a head student should." He had said coldly before he left Malfoy alone.

_Is it because she's a Gryffindor?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .


	5. Just a kiss, nothing more

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me your thoughts and give me kudos!
> 
> P.S. All I can say is that this won't be just a silly love triangle, writing this story I've come to realise I LOVE drama ;)

* * *

 

Severus didn't mean for this to happen. He couldn't let his guard down, even less with his godson in his presence. He knew Draco and Granger were good friends before, but he didn't count on them being _more_. He couldn't avoid the dark feelings the veela magic would make him feel about it. He felt his blood boil with anger at the mere thought of them being together. _And I've thought after the disgusting_ \- Severus had to stop and count to ten before this temper got the best of him remembering the reason of her being admitted into the Infirmary. - _event that happened earlier. Finally, Hermione thought best about dating silly boys her age. I guess not._ He made a mental note to make Weasley's life a living hell after what he'd done to his mate. Not only does the bastard has the nerve of dating her but also the sauciness of punching her? After he found out she was his mate, he would carry invariably with him little bottles of calming draught rather _strong_ for each time he would see Hermione with Weasley. His veela blood stopped the bottles from unleashing their full effect on him, so he had to take a minimum of 2-3 bottles each time he would feel his veela blood become more agitated with his emotions. But today, he had to take at least _seven_ of those bottles and put on his pendant to _at least_ get out of there without the furniture, or anyone besides her, getting severely damaged when he saw her at the Infirmary.

_After delivering a student whose face had turned pink from an accident in his last class to the infirmary, he could not only smell her but also feel she was in danger. His senses sharpened, he could feel his fangs growing, and he ignored the fact his eyes would most probably be bright obsidian by now. Thank the Gods the Infirmary is almost empty he thought. He could hear his godson's ramblings towards Poppy as he approached his mate with the precaution of not being caught. _

_"I swear I will kill that bastard!" Malfoy bellowed at the nurse._

_"Mr. Malfoy, please calm down and stop yelling, it'll fix nothing. As you told me the story, it looks like it was a mere accident caused by a misunderstanding."_

_"An accident?! I wouldn't say the weasel had thrown a punch by "accident". Every witness there could affirm he looked very much he wanted to get physical, and violently so. I can't believe he was that stupid to use Muggle fighting." Weasley had punched her? How could he?! How DARED he?! Severus was prepared to jump in and scare everyone away to heal his mate privately until his rational self mentally slapped him, and better thought of drinking his calming draughts. Fuck! He had already taken 3 in the day, and he wasn't feeling a tad better. He began searching for more as he listened to the conversation with his new heightened hearing sense. _

_"Mr. Malfoy, I assure you this mishap could have been avoided if you hadn't provoked Mr. Weasley. I assume the strike wasn't directed at her, am I correct?" After a long moment without words, it was clear Ron had meant to punch Draco instead of Hermione. Like the Gryffindor she is, she would most probably have thought she could've avoided the fight without magic. Severus shook his head at her reckless attempt at stopping it. She might be a war hero, but she lacks enough common sense for stopping irrelevant, petty fights. And even more so, if the fight was between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Even though the war was over, and Slytherins weren't much of "conceited snobs" (almost all other students from different houses referred to them like that), and had stopped slightly with the blood supremacy (the majority), there was still an evident rivalry between Gryffindors and Slytherins. _

_"Seeing I am correct, I suggest you help me attend Miss Granger instead of staying tongue-tied with a bitter expression on your face." Severus couldn't see them, but he could hear the exasperated tone on Poppy._

_"Yes of course Mdme. Pomfrey, I just… I am ready to hex the weasel after what he did. If he ever thinks of laying a hand on her again…" He was cut off with the sound of a moan._

_"Draco, sod off," Severus smirked when he heard the voice of Hermione lightly rise from where she was. She must've just woken up he thought._

_"Don't misunderstand me, I'm really grateful for this, but I think I can hex my boyfriend's stupidity myself." He could almost feel her smile. Draco snorted after what she said._

_"I know Granger. I just… I don't know what would've I done if I lost you for a minute." Lost you? Severus thought twice what his godson had just said. The sound of his words seemed too affectionate for his liking. Does he fancy Hermione, **my** Hermione? After roaming a bit and stealing enough calming draught he paced restlessly on the outside of the Infirmary, and he saw Draco and Hermione get out from it a while later. He waited a few moments until he decided it was best to follow them.  He better keep his relationship platonic with my mate, or else…_

He cursed and mentally slapped himself over and over after the encounter with Granger and Malfoy. He really hoped his godson would keep his hands off her, but he feared his actions might have revealed the why of his sudden outburst. He knew the endless questions that were about to come to him, and he began thinking of viable excuses he could give him. Being a veela and revealing who was his mate was definitely out of the question. _He knows I know he has had many… encounters with Hogwarts' female students before this. And I must say, this looked far the most innocent of the ones I've caught him. And I also know, he didn't believe a quarter of what I just told him a while ago._ Severus sighed as he thought of plausible excuses while he walked toward his chambers.

* * *

 After what seemed forever, Hermione finally snapped back towards reality and began staggering through the halls towards her chamber. She didn't feel dizzy at all from the events with Ron. No, she felt shaky for both the almost kiss with Draco and the sudden apparition of the potions master. She decided she didn't know what shocked her more; the fact she didn't even attempt to push Draco off or the spasmodic reaction their professor had when they almost kissed. Had Draco done something to anger him like that? Was he betrothed to someone and Professor Snape knew? Was that the reason for his sudden outburst? She decided to discard the last thought; Draco would've told her if he was betrothed to someone. _Maybe he was already mad about something and seeing us must have been the cherry on top of his patience._ Hermione knew how silly that sounded but decided best to stick to it. She would question Malfoy about the encounter if she saw him in the common room. _He is his godson after all, and he would undoubtedly tell him why he reacted like that. But his eyes… I can almost swear they were glossy black when he found us… where have I seen this before?_ Hermione shrugged the feeling off, she thought it would most probably be the effects of the potions and the blow she had today.

She reached the common room and saw the only light illuminating it was coming from the fireplace. She felt embarrassed to face Draco right now, seeing he was reading a book on the couch, looking like he was _waiting_ for her. She gulped a little and decided it was best to approach him right now. He looked at her endearingly and spoke when he saw nothing came out of her parted lips.

"Please… I don't want you to misunderstand anything that happened between us. I do mean everything that I said and did earlier today, and I still do, but I don't want you to feel uncomfortable with our relationship if you don't return the same feelings I have for you." Hermione stood there dazed and blushing furiously at the maturity of Draco's words. Draco in fact, felt too, amazed by the serenity he managed to control things. _But I do really hope she feels the same way about me_ he thought.

"I… I'm glad you're taking this seriously." She managed to say at last. "The things is… as I told you _earlier_ today, I still have to resolve things out with Ron. I don't believe my romantic relationship with him has a future anymore. I'm certain my feelings towards him are purely fraternal more than romantic, and although I consider his are too, his jealousy always gets the best out of him." She paused, thinking what to say sequentially. "I need to discuss things with him, _alone_. And even though I don't expect less than a month of him ignoring me, I don't want our friendship to end. I treasure him enough for that."

There was a silence, both to give Draco time to assimilate her words and Hermione, time to think what to say next. Draco led Hermione to sit next to him on the couch.

"Draco, I too treasure our friendship, and very dearly so. And right now my feelings for you haven't changed since this afternoon, or maybe even since before all of this happened." She said  with knowing eyes and Draco looked up to her, expectantly "I believe there will be a chance for this to happen... again" She said grabbing his hand and looked straight into his eyes, which sparkled with the light of the fire. Her heart skipped a beat before continuing, "But I want you to respect my decision of staying friends right now. I don't want to infuriate Ron furthermore," She said with a sad, small smile. And added with a more playful smile. "Besides, we now have to worry about Professor Snape too. What happened on the stairs today? I don't believe I have seen him this mad about a mere kiss before. Although I think he would be mad if he saw anyone kissing, I didn't think he would act so aggressively. " She blushed. "Did he tell you why?" Now it was time for Draco to look worried.

"No, I was hoping you knew the answer to that, Miss know-it-all." He smirked, using the nickname Snape had given her, and she gave with a fierce look. He laughed lightly. "Sorry Granger, I even thought it was because you were a Gryffindor. But honestly, I don't know what in Merlin's pants happened for his mood to be this sour. I even looked up the head students manual if it said anything about us not being able to kiss, it said nothing." Hermione looked pensive. "Although I did see him put on a necklace of sorts when he took me into the halls, I don't know if that means anything." She looked up at him with pensive eyes.

"I could almost swear I saw his eyes were black, even the white part of them. Did you see them too?" Hermione looked at the I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about face Draco gave her and sighed. "I guess it was the effect of the numbness potion acting over my senses. But I believe what I saw, and I also think I have seen that somewhere..." She tried to recall this past week where has she seen the bright obsidian eyes. Draco snapped her from her thoughts.

"Well, I guess we can't act too giddy, as the weasel puts it when we see Snape around. Not until we know for sure the reason of the whim Snape threw at us. I don't know if it was because I'm his godson, something my father had told him or anything else. All of which I hope they are not." Hermione nodded and then yawned. Draco saw her and said,

"But now we must sleep. I don't want my bookworm to pass out in tomorrow's lessons, not when we have potions again, sadly." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Draco I spent, for almost a year, countless nights without sleeping, and I can assure you I didn't pass out. And don't say sadly, potions class is essential for our N.E.W.T.s, with our without Professor Snape!" Draco chuckled. He knew her studious self, won over a simple sermon of a professor to regret attending a class.

"I know, but I don't want this to be the first." She couldn't help but smile at his caring words.

"Goodnight then."

"Goodnight Granger" He cupped her face and lightly planted a loving kiss at the corner of her lips lingering for about 4 seconds before retreating. And before she could retort, he made his exit rather quickly and shut his dorm door. Hermione was left alone, again, speechless. _I will hex him!_

* * *

 If Harry or Ginny thought they had made a good work keeping prying eyes and ears from the scene of yesterday, they were wrong. _Very_ wrong. Now that the Dark Lord was gone, gossip in Hogwarts revolved pretty much on what other schools did. Students' lives. It wasn't long before Hermione received strange, jealous, or even admiration looks from fellow classmates. She tried to ignore them all but couldn't entirely escape all of them as they would sometimes discreetly ambush her right in the moment or after she went from a class to the other. The classmates and friends from her year weren't so annoying. They knew her from since 1st or 2nd year, and already knew the endless amount of gossip the witch had received concerning her "love life" over the years. First was Krum and Harry, then it had been Ron and Lavender, and now it was Ron and Draco. _They just can't get enough!_ Hermione angrily thought, making her way looking for Ron. Their free period was almost up, and potions class was next. She finally found him in an alley close to the dungeons chatting with Harry. He saw her before Ron did, and with a knowing look, he excused himself to give them some privacy.

"Ron."

"Please don't look at me Hermione. I don't know what to feel right now. I feel very remorseful about yesterday, but I can't shake the feeling of anger when I see you and Malfoy together." Hermione could see he was grabbing the corner of the bench rather forcefully.  _I don't know if he's apologising or not to be honest._

"Ron please, I'm not here to fight. Not anymore." He finally saw her with begging eyes. She tried not to look at him, not to face him. _No! You must do this if you want him to understand. You can't back away!_

"You're one of the most important persons in my life Ron. After… days, maybe even weeks of thinking it over, I've come to realise that the love we hold to each other may not be romantic. It's more fraternal." She said sitting next to him and grabbing his hand. He flinched at her touch and took his hand away.

"You think this is a joke? Hermione, I think I've loved you since even before we'd met! You can't do this to me! I've done every sodding thing for ye!" He said raising his voice standing up.

"Ron please, you're going to attract an audience here." She hissed at him. "I don't think this a joke, Ron. I love you, I do. But think it over Ron, even though we are pretty good friends, we've been fighting way more since we're together. And I don't like that, and I think neither do you. What if… things were like before?"

" _Are you breaking up with me?_ " Ron said with a high pitched tone and a flushed face. She took a deep breath and stood up next to him.

"Yes, yes I am. I trust this experience has taught us to strengthen our friendship more than ever. I don't want to lose you, Ron, you're one of my best friends." She said with teary eyes.

"This about the ferret right?" He said clenching his teeth.

"I-It is not! I cannot deny I have a perfectly good relationship with him, nor that I like him. But the fact that we do not work as a couple has nothing to do with it!" She was now crying.

"I'm sorry, but it is hard to believe. What I _do_ believe is that I was just a puppet all this time." He said with an icy tone. 

"What are you saying?" She said, tears falling from her eyes.

"Don't take me for a fool Hermione. I may have been distracted with other things in sixth year, but I wasn't _blind_. Don't tell me you were just friends with Malfoy back then because no one buys it. Good luck finding your bloody soul mate then."

He stormed out the alley while cursing into the air. Hermione did a cleansing spell on her face, and with a tissue, she blew her nose. _I had seen this coming, only that I hadn't count that it would hurt so much…_

Hermione, after countless minutes trying to stop crying, was almost late for potions class. She quietly took her seat next to Ginny and proceeded to sink into her bench, head in her arms.

"Hermione, what's wrong? Do I need to hex someone?" She could hear the whispers of her desperate friend on her ear and decided to tell her what had happened after the incident of yesterday afternoon with Ron up until today.

"Oh Hermione, I'm so sorry. But don't worry, he'll come around." She said patting her back.

"There was this one time, on our trip to Egypt, Ron wanted to impress this girl he had just met. He tried to show off with minor spells he had just learned but was dwarfed when Fred did it best, obviously attracting the girl's attention to him. Ron was so mad he swore never to speak again to him and look, he always brags about how good Fred and George are now doing with the joke shop." She said smiling.

"I know Gin… it's just, I really don't know when he'll speak to me again. The Ron you speak of was thirteen. Last time I had an argument with grown-up Ron this big, we didn't talk for months." Hermione said with a pained face.

"Well yeah, but that was when you guys were alone in the forest. And he wasn't even there! Now you have many people who are willingly ready to hex him." She said with a mischievous smile.

"Thanks, Ginny," Hermione said while laughing.

"We won't lose any of our time in this class. Yesterday, some of you managed successfully to create Wolfsbane, and for today, we'll be doing Draught of Peace. As some of you may know, the Infirmary is running low on medical equipment and Mdme. Pomfrey has kindly asked if we could provide some. This potion was assigned in your fifth year to many of you, brewing this accurately won't cause a problem." Professor Snape quickly said right after entering the classroom.

"Oh drats! We didn't have the time to see who was your admirer! It almost seems Snape knows what we planned to do and deliberately ruined it." Ginny whispered in a pained tone, chaing subjects.

"Well, he is very skilled at Legilimency…" _Actually, it is rather odd. Counting that, at the beginning of the term until now he had given us the silent treatment for the first minutes and today, the day we planned to…_ Hermione was shaken away from her thoughts when her best girlfriend shook her, and hurriedly whispered at her,

"But forget about Ron. Let's talk about you! I mean, you almost kissed Draco Malfoy! But I still don't quite understand the reaction of Snape…"

"Miss Weasley I can assure you, rambling in class will not do your potion. Ten points from Gryffindor, and Get. To.Work." Snape said, appearing quietly behind them. Hermione had her eyes glued to her table, not wanting to suffer further humiliation from her professor after yesterday.

"And Miss Granger, your sulking towards the table won't do your potion also. Five points from Gryffindor." He said leaving Hermione blushing furiously.

"Yes, professor." She said sheepishly, not daring to look up.  Professor Snape just left towards his desk without saying furthermore.

"I'm sorry Hermione, I didn't see Snape lurking behind us. I know you didn't want to have an encounter with him for like, the rest of the year. Although it's not fair, he took fewer points from you! He shouldn't have taken 10 points from me! He's rather odd since the school started." Ginny, as quietly and slowly as she could, whispered at her.

"It's okay Gin. And hey, it's better than if it were 20 points." _Although I must admit, he has been acting quite strangely._ Hermione thought. _Could it be the same reason or nature for his sour mood yesterday? Or his black eyes? What if the one with the stare was…?_ Hermione quickly abandoned the thought, _don't be daft Hermione, the thought alone is completely mental!_ and resumed her potion instead.

* * *

 "Harry, I hate to be separated again from you, and Ron. But he won't talk to me! I think we must approach our friendship cautiously. I don't want to lose him and force us to "share" our time with you." Hermione said sadly towards her best friend, a week after her break up with Ron.

"Like Ginny told you, he'll come around. He'll realise sooner or later he values more your friendship than losing you." She sighed.

"Well, it's been a week, and he hasn't even bothered to glance my way. I believe I'll give him until Christmas to even say "hello". Has he talked to you about this?"

"Not much, he knows my relationship with you is still the same, so he won't give me too many details. But he told me he bets Malfoy brainwashed you in some way or another for you to break up with him. And he also told me he's sure you two snogged or dated in sixth year." Hermione blushed.

"Harry I… You know how my relationship with Draco is. Although I sometimes feel like it is, It's not my fault Ron's head is full of jealousy. You know better than anyone! The last time he was this jealous he left- for months! And while my relationship with Draco _may_ have been, for a little while, more than a friendship, does't mean it is _now._ The past is in the past, and more than a year passed since then that I began dating Ron."

"I know Hermione, but it made me think. I'm not accusing you of anything but… I believe you might even still fancy Malfoy and don't even know it. I know the heart does not choose with whom it falls in love. I bet if Ron weren't your boyfriend before, you'd be already snogging the brains out of Malfoy. And I don't like the mental image of that, but I can't blame you if you want to snogg his brains out." Harry said making a face of disgust. She just slapped his shoulder with her book.

"Harry Potter! Don't insinuating things when I was still your best friend's girlfriend a week ago! But I must say, you aren't completely wrong. Harry, I'm really confused about my feelings right now." She said considering telling him the prediction she was told.

"Harry I believe…" She was cut off by Draco calling her. _Why must I always be interrupted right in the middle of something important?_ She relaxed only because it was Draco.

"Granger, there are some third years causing trouble near the astronomy tower, and I need your help."

"Couldn't you handle them by yourself Malfoy? We're discussing something important over here." Harry said with a not-so-rudely tone. Hermione was happy Harry and Draco were more civil to one another than him and Ron. They still weren't what you'd call friends, but it was an improvement.

"It's fine Harry. I'll check it up. We'll discuss this later." She said lightly grabbing his arm and gave him a warm smile, then proceeded to follow Draco.

Already on the Astronomy Tower, Hermione couldn't see a single soul and questioned Draco.

"You told me there were some students here, I see nothing!"

"Maybe they already left and decided to be good wizards," Draco said while smirking and realisation came over her.

"You just tricked me to follow you! I was actually having an important conversation with Harry you know." She tried to say with a serious tone, but her creeping smile gave her away.

"Hey, I think I pretty well saved you back there. I couldn't stand seeing your tired face with Potter."

"I didn't have a "tired face" as you put it. But anyway, why the astronomy tower? You could've just dragged me a few halls from him if you wanted to talk to me."

"Because in here I can do this freely." He said, and his lips suddenly swayed with hers.

Hermione's reaction towards the kiss came 3 seconds after he initiated it. She instinctively returned it wholeheartedly and felt the softness of his lips move against hers. One hand of his grabbed her waist and the other caressed her wild curls that flew in the wind. She couldn't help but catch his face with her hands as he deepened the kiss. He began kissing her passionately, and he nibbled at her lower lip making her gasp at the sudden movement he did, allowing his tongue enter her mouth. She battled against it for a second, until her defenses went down and she melted into the kiss, letting a little moan of pleasure escape her; it only encouraged him to kiss her more. It had been the most tender, loving kiss she'd ever had.

She remembered how his lips felt against hers and she gave in deeper into the kiss. _Oh how much I've missed this.._ After a good deal of time, her senses came back, and she realized what she just did. She gasped and stepped backward, breaking the kiss.

"What was that for? I thought I told you to respect my decision of staying friends!" She said with her face flushed, and her hair dancing widely in the air. "I did. And it was part of my birthday gift to you." He smiled teasingly."Although I must say, you looked like you positively were enjoying the kiss as much as I did _Hermione_." His smile only grew.

"I…That's has nothing to do about it! You ignored my request! And my birthday was nearly a week ago! You have no excuse!"

"But I didn't. You didn't hear me say, "Granger, would you like to be my girlfriend?" did you?" Hermione couldn't help but blush at his false request. "For much as I would like to say it, I wouldn't betray our friendship as you put it. It was just a kiss, nothing more." He didn't stop smiling while he said that. Hermione's cheeks were now flushed with both embarrassment and a little bit of anger.

"You… You! I can well believe why they sorted you out in Slytherin. Always trying to find loopholes in things!" She said pointing at him.

"Yes, but you _love_ it." He said with a dark tone, getting closer to her, making her back hit the nearest wall. Draco couldn't stop smiling. The kiss was more than he'd expected at first. He had expected her to just slap him and yell, but her reaction confirmed she still reciprocated his feelings as well. It had already been too much time without kissing her.  _Her lips… oh, how much I would like to revive the now memory!_ _She tasted like heaven!_ Hermione looked quite mad at first, but then her features softened.

"Dear Merlin, what am I going to do with you?" She laughed, breaking the tension. "We better return or actual students might get in trouble."

"Sure," Draco said before stealing a quick kiss from her again, and before she said anything, he paced from the astronomy tower laughing, only hearing her answer,

"I'll hex you Malfoy!"

* * *

 

**_Thou who shall not cease to enter my mind, who intrudes my deepest dreams,_ **

**_Thou whose essence infiltrates my inner soul,_ **

**_Have the most delicacy of all the blossoming rouge buds._ **

**_I shall wait for thee until the last pulse my soul will give fades away._ **

**_SVS_ **

Hermione read the note over and over again, confused as of when she first received it for her birthday. It had appeared on her lap, being sent magically towards her, without any sender. _Who could've sent her the note?_ Of course, Draco was beyond jealousy when he found out but didn't appear threatened by it in the least bit. He was confident enough of himself. He'd told her "If there were actually someone behind that letter, should know that I already have the advantage of winning your heart." She'd just rolled her eyes at him, thinking he was just too prideful to admit the letter was heart-touching and overly romantic.

Reading it over again, she was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, with Luna and Ginny, inspecting the letter furthermore. "Are you sure you don't know any SVS?" Luna asked her and Hermione shook her head.

"Not that I remember, no."

"Hermione I'm telling you! It must be your secret admirer!"

"The more we should be concerned! The letter, even though romantic up to the roof, creeps me out a little. But even if it was, Ginny, we don't actually have anyone with those initials in our potion class." _Unless he is by an alias…_ she thought.

"Anyway, I think it is very romantic of someone writing that formally to you. I wouldn't imagine a boy from our class writing such thing." Ginny said absently.

"Maybe it wasn't a boy." Luna pointed out, and before Hermione could respond, Harry tapped her shoulder. "Hermione, McGonagall wants to see us." He paused. "And what is Luna doing over here?" Harry said pointing at the petite blonde witch while Hermione quickly tucked the parchment inside her robe.

"The Fat Lady got a liking to her, Luna always coming here, and even gave her the password," Ginny said brightly as she softly gave Harry a welcoming kiss.

"Oh, that's good I suppose. But anyway, Hermione we must go to her."Hermione nodded and said goodbye to her friends, leaving them with unanswered questions.

They reached the headmaster and headmistress' office and found McGonagall looking at her desk.

"Professor…?" Harry questioned.

"It's good that you're here, I tried for Severus and Ronald to be here and discuss things the five of us, but seeing the seriousness of this affair, I must inform you right away. Severus already knows, but he's got class and Ron too. I suggest you tell him immediately after I say this." Both Hermione and Harry's blood had turned cold. Was this about Voldemort? _It can't be, I killed him myself_ thought Harry. Seeing both Hermione and Harry's faces, Minerva interjected.

"Don't look so dejected children, it's not so serious as it was with... Voldemort." She said with difficulty and could hear a definite sigh of relief from both wizards when she said it.

"But it does cause a sign of warning and attention to all of us." Minerva then took a more serious expression. "There have been several _rumours_ of fugitive Death Eaters, the few that remain, who are planning the leak of those who are in Azkaban."

"But… that's nearly impossible… we barely made it in our third year, and we had a Hippogriff, and it was only one person!" Hermione exclaimed, and Harry winced, remembering his godfather. "And the last time they got out, was because the dementors joined Voldemort! I don't think Kingsley still has them as guards."

"I know, I know, but they are just rumours. The alarming thing is, the few that are still fugitive have been taken a killing spree towards Muggle-borns." She said with a hard expression on her face. Hermione couldn't help the notch that formed in her stomach. She wanted to vomit. _And here I was, thinking that I was, at last, completely safe from the viciousness and malicious acts towards Muggle-Borns._

"I don't want to scare you, or anything close. But I do have the necessity of informing you; this matter must not be taken so lightly. Even though the remaining Death Eaters are very few and they will be arrested at sight, we cannot ignore the fact some of the scraps the war left could be a small, growing menace."

"Professor, and have the Order or the Ministry taken any action regarding the matter?" Harry inquired.

"The Ministry is still a little brought down by the war. They have already too much on their plate, and it will take months, if not a year or so before they can act on anything less critical. While it is not a direct threat, they can't do anything officially, but we are grateful Mr. Kingsley is the new minister. The Order has indeed sent few of their most efficient wizards to search for them. Kingsley has ordered full secrecy on this, although I very much doubt there are any death eaters inside or at the outsides of the school. He might also start recruiting new members, so if someone of your generation who you see fit for the task catches your attention, let me know." Hermione and Harry both nodded.

"You took the news rather well." She said smiling without showing her teeth. "Severus was pretty much livid after receiving the news, told me they should've sent every member who was free of duty to catch them. I told him it was too risky." She sighed. "But nevertheless, do keep an eye on your trips towards Hogsmeade and try not to spread the news in the school. We don't want any more drop out children or worried parents."

"Yes, professor." They said in unison.

"And for the tenth time, please call me Minerva when we are alone, you're way more than just students now." She said with a smile as she parted them away.

"Death Eaters again?" Draco exclaimed when Hermione told him the news. Harry and she agreed she would break the news to Draco and Luna, and Harry to Ron and Ginny. Although only Ron was an official member, they consider the other three to be very capable of becoming future members as well as Neville. But they had to wait for his return to tell him, they didn't want to risk sending an owl.

"Please Draco, you must not speak nor talk about it to anyone besides, Harry, Ginny, Luna, Ron, and remaining members of the Order, and that includes me. We can't agitate the students after the recent war." Draco looked like he wanted to say more, but instead he nodded in agreement.

After the war, his father was sent to Azkaban for the rest of the summer because it was proven he'd switched sides. But even though it was proven, he and just recently gotten out only to be on probation for 3 years. And he had to remain on house arrest for a year and a half. Even though Draco no longer felt the necessity or the wish of returning to his so-called home, he had more-less pardoned his father and mildly believed his apologies. He only did that for his mother's sake. Draco planned to work as an Auror or in the Ministry of Magic after school, and with the inheritance his family name had left, (when his father ended up in Azkaban, every single family good and galleon was left in Draco's name), he wanted to buy his mother a new manor, clean from dark magic.

"Hermione, I promise not a single word will come out from me unless it is to someone from the Order." She smiled.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. I wouldn't like to cast a second _obliviate_ spell ever again." She said  with a sad expression on her face, and she felt tears prick the end of her eyes. Draco hugged her and caressed her hair.

"Granger… I'm sorry for your parents. Have you tried to make contact with them?" he said looking at her.

"I… thought to try to locate them but… But now don't think it's the wisest thing to do. It's been over a year since I put a spell on them and the long-term effects of it are not so delightful. Even if I did try to restore their thoughts, not all of them might come back, and they may even suffer further memory loss if done incorrectly. After the war when I looked at them, they seemed so happy with the life they have right now… I can't take that away from them you know? _What if they don't want me anymore?_ " Hermione said with tears that had already betrayed her eyes falling down on her cheeks, and Draco hugged her even stronger.

"Hermione, I didn't mean to upset you like that. I'll tell you what. After this year's end, I'll help you look and restore the memories of your parents." She looked brightly at him and stopped crying.

"You'll do that for me?"

"Only with one condition" She looked at him with a vaguely squint look.

"Which one?"

"If you kiss me." She laughed and hit him lightly on the arm.

"Draco, stop looking for loopholes on things! But fine, I'll do it." She said laughing as he suddenly smiled widely and she kissed him on the cheek. Draco looked a little disappointed.

"Hey, I had to try."

* * *

 Severus paced restlessly in his room after the news Minerva revealed to him. How on Earth would the Ministry let still Death Eaters roaming freely in the world? He knew Kingsley was doing "everything he could" but it wasn't enough. The thought of a soulless coming near his mate infuriated him more. He relieved himself with the thought of his mate being near him so he could protect her easier. After the close proximity he had with her in potions class the week before, he couldn't stop his veela side to write a little note to her for her "birthday". _Bloody veela_  he thought and cursed himself after he'd already sent it for doing it. Of course, he knew her birthday was merely an excuse for writing her such amorous letter. He had to put the alias of SVS (Severus Veela Snape) to avoid any suspicion that it was his doing. He knew his mate was if not, the most intelligent witch he had met in his entire life. And he knew she had tried to locate him in the potions class for she already knew the one staring at her was in that class, and the fact he heard with his heightened senses the two witches rambling about their 'plan' to catch him the class before. He then began talking right after he entered the room, distracting him to stare at her as he usually did.

His veela side also felt pained, but he had to take away at least some points from her before raising any suspicion. He was beginning to feel more agitated and nervous every time he saw her with other males. He also knew his veela blood wanted to make him announced to his mate to bond with her, but it was too dangerous to do it right away. _The only thing about this, is that it seems Hermione finally left Weasley for good_  he thought. After not being able to control it for much longer, he decided to silently cast a dream spell on her. When she went to sleep, her dream and his would be linked, and both consciousnesses would be in the same dream. Although he would remember every bit of it, she would only remember the dream itself, but won't remember with who exactly she had dreamt with unless he wanted to. So after tracking her down, he saw her in the library and ever so silently cast the spell without anyone noticing, not even she.

After hours of waiting, he finally sensed she was going to sleep and he too, went towards his bed and began dreaming almost immediately, not having the necessity as most nights to drink a sleep draught.

_They were in the forbidden forest; she wore a white, thin dress and was barefoot. He looked at her as if she were his prey, a little doe running in the woods, and silently followed her. She was running as if she searched for something, for someone in the dark forest. When he was close enough to her, he released his pheromones, and he saw she could smell them for she accidentally tripped over with a vine and fell to the ground. He was instantly above her, with his fangs and wings out. His bright obsidian eyes looking straight into her hazel ones._

_She gasped at the view, but he sensed she wasn't feeling afraid. Instead, she was washed with a feeling of curiosity and longing. He smiled at her, and he moved so that she couldn't move from her place. She was lying on her back, her curls sprayed all over the ground, lips parted with a cherry colour and he was on top of her. He could hear her quick gasps of air, and he hushed her placing a finger on her lips._

_"Don't fear my love, my intentions are far the opposite of harming you." He released all the pheromones his veela blood would allow and he leaned closer to her, his lips almost touching hers._

_"Do you trust me?" He could see the anxiety she felt before was gone, and blinking ever so slowly she nodded._

_"Don't worry… it's just a kiss, nothing more." And he leaned forward._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter :)


	6. Longing stares and stolen kisses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, hope you're enjoying the story so far :)
> 
> I only wanted to say that if you remember at the beginning of the first chapter I put the date where the story stared, well, to avoid many chunks of paragraphs in italics, if I'm gonna write a memory, I'll put the date of the memory (if it's too far behind in the past or very long) at the beginning of the paragraph and the date of the present at the end to avoid any confusion.
> 
> Please give me kudos, comments and enjoy :)

Hermione woke up with a jolt, heart racing and breath shaking. _What was that?_ In all of her most vivid dreams she's had in her short life, she had never experienced something even remotely close to last nights' dream. She could still feel her heart racing and skin burning from the intensity of the dream. The only time where she had felt this alive before was when she kissed Draco. What confused more Hermione was the fact she remembered her dream with perfect detail all with the exception of one thing: the face of the other participant in her dream. _How could you not remember the face of the person with whom you were just dreaming moments ago?_ She shook her head and she then, began thinking rationally about the dream. _I was in the forest, running? Then I smelled… something beautiful… and I fell to the floor. And then this shadow/person just pinned me to the ground, and I saw wings, fangs… and blackness._ Hermione tried to remember the last thing she ate or drank last night, as she never dreamt of things this ludicrous. She touched her lips as she recalled the past events, and her cheeks were flushed with a shade of pink. She had kissed Draco Malfoy… Malfoy! And not only that, she felt suddenly ashamed because not only had she being kissing Ron less than two weeks ago, she had snogged Draco and she had dreamt she was kissed by another man... or woman. _Oh gods!_

Putting on a robe, she rushed towards the Gryffindor common room, not caring her hair looked pretty much like a bird's nest. She thanked Merlin it was almost 7 in the morning, and school started in a couple of hours.

Hermione, passing through the empty halls, reached the Gryffindor common room, where she proceeded to enter the girl's dormitories. She silently entered Ginny's chamber without waking up the others, and cast a silent spell as she closed the curtains of her bed behind her.

"Ginny, Ginny wake up!" She whispered and she shook her lightly. She only got muffled, inarticulate and flaky responses back.

"Please Gin!" She shook harder, and no answer. She knew _all_ Weasleys had trouble waking up and thought of something better."You wouldn't believe what I heard at the Great Hall the other day about Harry…" "Harry?" That did it, the redhead woke up with eyes wide as cherry pies and sat up on the bed.

"What exactly did you hear about him?" Hermione couldn't help but chuckle. Even though Ginny was known for being bold and intrepid, she did have that cute side, and you couldn't help but want to pinch her cheek and kiss it.

"You're going to kill me Gin, but there isn't gossip about Harry; I needed you to wake up." Ginny pierced her eyes.

"What time is it?"

"I believe seven minus fifteen." She said with an apologetic look.

"Shite! Hermione, I still had forty-five minutes of sleep! This must better be important." She said with her eyes half closed.

"It is- Forty-five? I thought you took more time dolling up."

"Sometimes… I prefer to use the time sleeping. You know I don't love makeup, and my hair is so straight, I don't have to do much. Not like _others_ at least." She giggled at the mass amount of hair that sat on the witch's head, and Hermione rolled her eyes at the redhead.

"Well, my hair _is_ bushy, wild, and I have just woken up too, so I haven't tamed it yet."

"I thought you used the charm that made your hair less bushy and more curly for a week."

"I do, but yesterday I was way too tired for it and… Anyway! Let's not stray from the subject. I needed to tell someone, because I feel like I'm going mental. Ginny, I had the strangest dream last night. Like, really the oddest dream I have ever had in my life. It was so vivid, so intense and a little perplexing at the same time. I remember almost all of it- with the exception of with whom I dreamt with. It so strange, as if my mind won't let me-"

"-Remember?" Ginny said rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah, but how do you-?"

"It's a charm. It's called _Unionem phantasias_. It makes two persons, or even more, share the same dream. Harry and I use it all the time." She said giggling. "But if the one who cast the spell wishes it, the other person won't remember with who they dreamt with, or at least they won't remember his or her face." She yawned.

Hermione didn't know what angered her more. The fact that she didn't have any previous knowledge of the charm, or that someone had charmed her with a sleep spell without her consent. Her cheeks were now flushed but with anger. _How dare they! Or better say… he? Gods, I don't even know who cast the charm!_

"You look angry." The redhead said crossing her legs.

"I am! I feel so _violated!_ How can anyone dare to use the spell so freely like that! It's worse than invading personal space, they are infiltrating it Gin! How can a spell this dangerous be used by anyone?"

"Was the dream _that_ bad? I mean, the charm only joins consciousness, but we are the ones who fill the dream with our wishes and fears. Of course usually the one who cast the charm has the more control in the dream. And seeing you didn't know at all about it, you merely played a character in the other's dream. Nevertheless, your consciousness also contributed to it. But leaving aside that, what was the dream about?" Hermione blushed furiously and turned her head away from her friend _Gods, I_ _can't stop blushing since I woke up,_ She sighed.

"Oohhh! Was it dreamy and hot? Did you snogged all night long?" She smirked.

"No! Nothing like that! It was just a kiss, but I don't even know with whom!" Ginny threw her a knowing look at Hermione, and she shook her head.

"I bet it was your secret admirer! Even though you can't remember his face, you can sure remember more-less how was he like right?"

"Something like that…"

* * *

 He couldn't stop himself from jogging and hide from the atrocious potions teacher whenever he saw him, after their _unfortunate_ encounter on the stairs the other day. He'd intentionally wanted to query his godfather. But after the icy, standoffish glares he would give him every time their eyes met, he started to think it wasn't the best of ideas. He decided to entirely give up inquiring him directly and better thought to look for answers elsewhere. He was also sure that if he wanted his relationship with Granger to blossom he had to keep it a secret. It was pretty obvious his so-called godfather didn't want them together. _But why?_

_He was beaming with glee the afternoon they had snogged, but then stopped his tracks abruptly when Snape had caught him in the halls._

_"May I know the sudden and highly inappropriate outburst of your demeanor Mr. Malfoy?" He'd asked. Draco was almost sure his eyes darkened and remembered the words of Hermione. She wasn't lying about the pitch black eyes... Also, he sensed Snape did not only felt but smelled the fear that was creeping in the back of his neck._

_"I-I…" He stuttered. "My mother wrote to me. We're holding a Christmas banquet and perhaps, a ball." He said after a few moments of composing himself. Although it wasn't a lie, he couldn't think of anything better to say. Without waiting for an answer, he quickly made an exit and paced as furthest away from his teacher as his feet would allow._

He groaned at the thought. He knew his parents would most certainly invite Snape as a special guest, and he knew he couldn't just avoid him as well as ignore him much longer. But his thoughts adequated themselves for his mind began to wander towards a particular bookworm witch.

And he found that all week long he couldn't stop thinking about _her._

Draco knew, since the very moment he laid eyes on Hermione Granger, she would be his downfall. He'd never expected to become so smitten with the witch, but the snog only reminded him of how much he'd missed her lips over the past 2 years. He laughed for he remembered how she had returned the kiss after a few seconds of shock, just as their first one.

 

_**December 1996** _

It had been a month since the first broom ride Draco had given to Hermione. The start of December had much-been joy and gaiety to Hogwarts students, specifically Gryffindors; their winning celebration always left a feeling of contempt on the House for weeks, or until the next match. Even Hermione seemed a little bit happier with the glee the close proximity of holidays brought. He knew, of course, she was still hurting badly over the weasel git. But Draco noticed, his presence was much welcomed in Hermione's little bubble more now than ever. He would see that she was comfortable in any way and continuously thought in distractions for her mind to keep away from the red wanker.

He was glad the Dark Lord hadn't pressured him in repairing the Vanishing Cabinet which lay in the room of requirements since last month. He was imperiated and forced into making an Unbreakable Vow, which claimed he would repair the cabinet that would allow the Death Eaters enter Hogwarts. But Voldemort had given him until the end of his sixth year to do it.

The stress that had begun to consume him over his task of killing Dumbledore had driven him to almost drop out of school. Only to return with a cursed necklace his aunt, Bellatrix, gave him "to make things easier." He'd never asked for any of this. _Why me?_ Was his constant thought. He did believe in pure blood supremacy the majority of his life, but his mother secretly had taught him about tolerance, equality and the wrongness his father was meddled in when Draco turned fourteen.

It had changed his perspective a little bit (thing Hermione was also responsible for), but it came all too late. When his mother and him finally decided to escape and go into hiding (which was at the end of his fifth year, when his father's behaviour was the most paranoid and erratic), his father ended up in Azkaban; the Dark Lord finally recognized he had a boy close enough to Potter inside Hogwarts, who would go unsuspected.

Draco remembered with bitterness and bile in his throat at the dark memory. Voldemort threatening he would torture and kill his mother in front of his eyes, then him, if he didn't accept his offer of becoming a Death Eater. " _He's just a boy!_ " She'd screamed. And further blackmailing him, he told him they would end up with a fate worse than the Longbottoms if he didn't say yes when he was asked to kill the Headmaster. Although now that he remembers it, he could almost believe Voldemort expected him to fail. They had removed a few hairs from his head for making a Polyjuice potion, "in case" he failed to kill him. _Bloody bastard. I bet this was only a ploy of his to prove my "loyalty."_

Even though his life was in a state of constant stress, he found Granger almost took all his worries away. He knew ever since they begun their friendship, she would make him happy, and she made him want to be a better person. Draco, of course, couldn't tell her anything about the Death Eaters and Voldemort, not yet. In contempt of their friendship, Draco was wiser to tell the chosen one's (that would someday (hopefully) end with Voldemort) best friend he was, in fact, a death eater and his task was to kill none other than Albus Dumbledore. He wanted to, and in the past weeks where they had been closer more than ever, she'd commented about his lack of appetite and his flimsy appearance. He'd almost told her about his mark, but he shrugged it off as stress from all the new knowledge they had to know for their N.E.W.T.s next year.

Draco decided he would make his best efforts to cheer Hermione up this sixth year instead of spending his nights thinking about his dreadful future. She would give him the sparkle he needed to endure each day in these grim months. Although he knew Hermione's problems and worries seemed far more superficial than Draco's at the moment, he pushed his issues aside and instead put all his attention on the witch which whom he was falling for deeper and deeper as time went by.

Holidays were approaching, and even though it was still the beginning of December, they had roughly 3 weeks before Christmas break. Staying at Hogwarts, much as he wanted it now, wasn't a choice for him. He would have to return to _him_ to share his progress.

* * *

"What are you doing in the holidays?" Hermione asked. They were sitting in one of the quietest and isolated spots Three Broomsticks had. Savouring their butterbeer (hers with a little bit of gin), both Draco and Hermione sat and chatted in the comfort of the half-empty pub.

"I don't know. I mean- my mother hasn't said anything about traveling, visiting or inviting any relatives. So I'm guessing this year it's going to be my mom and me." _I wish_ he thought. Hermione looked unsure.

"I'm sorry for your father." She said sympathetically with a quiet voice.

"Well Granger, he's a Death Eater. What did you expect?" His tone came out harsher than he intended to. Hermione just nodded meekly and drank up her butterbeer. He mentally slapped himself, _Now you've made her sad you twat._

"Sorry, I think I'm still a little bit touched by it." She gave him a small smile and nodded with more emotion.

"And what are _you_ doing on holidays Granger?"

"I thought about staying here, maybe catch up on some reading." She said blushing. _Classic Granger, predictable bookworm._ "But I haven't spent Christmas with my parents these past years, so I'm going home and spend my holidays with them."

He looked at her and couldn't stop himself and just stared at her. The delicate witch he had in front of him, with her nose and cheeks pale red from the cold. And her hair, by virtue of the weather, wasn't bushy but more curly and wavy. _Such insignificant things, yet they make me feel as if my body was burning all over._ He must've stayed looking at her long enough because she asked him about it.

"What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?" She snapped him out of his trance.

"Uhm? Oh, it's nothing. C'mon Granger, fancy a walk with me?" He said standing up, leaving both cups empty.

They strolled around some of the cottages in Hogsmeade and were near an alley close to HoneyDuckes. Even though it was barely 6 o'clock, it was already pitch dark. _Typical English weather_ he thought. The snow was silent and it was slowly falling, the small snowflakes adorning the wizards' hair and clothes. They were walking peacefully, absorbing their environment at the time that an icy breeze embraced them. Draco saw her licking her reddish lips and tried to hug herself from the coldness of the weather. Her alabaster face contrasted with her almond hair and the white background.

"Hermione," He whispered, and she looked up with bright eyes, surprised he'd used her first name.

"Hmm?" She hummed. He couldn't stop himself and grabbed her by her hand, pulling her into him, hiding further into the ally and he crashed his lips softly against hers.

He felt she was considerably surprised  just as when he told her he hadn't hexed Potter in the past months. She returned the kiss after some aghast seconds, with the same gentleness he was kissing her. He could savour the gin of the butterbeer that lingered on the lips and a sweet taste of sugar on the tip of her tongue. He cupped her face and stroked softly with his gloveless hand her smooth cheekbones.

He knew both of them wanted this as badly in the same way as a caged bird waiting for freedom.

They stood there, minutes passing and her back collided with the wall; their lips never separating. She moaned when his hands caressed her curls, and his tongue met hers. His lips left hers momentarily and went down kissing slowly and delicately her neck, she gasped and she enclosed her hands in his now disheveled hair. His lips, nibbling her ear gently, found her lips again and with fervor and passion they snogged. After a few more moments of kisses, they parted away, and he rested his forehead against hers, taking her hands in his, intertwining fingers.

"I-I just couldn't resist myself" He said panting from the lack of air, half smile evident on his face.

Hermione just smiled at him and closed her eyes, brushing her nose against his.

"I don't really know how would you like us to keep this, I mean, we could keep this a secret if you want." He said not meaning his words, but only trying to make her comfortable . She just smiled at him warmly and proceeded to kiss him again.

* * *

 

Neither Hermione nor Draco really knew what their relationship was. Days passed, and they found themselves searching for each other's eyes in the Great Hall, walking through the hallways, and in classes. Each gaze with both caring, and longing eyes.

They've decided, through a silent agreement, it would be wise they remained friends at the moment. They both knew if was for both's sake.Not that the opinion of the school mattered to them if they were dating or not, but Draco knew he would be in much and bigger trouble if anyone found out. At most, he would've received a mild but severe punishment, but _she-_  no, Draco didn't want to even think about what could they do to her. But just like he would be in much trouble for it, he knew her relationship with Ron was pretty much stained for the moment, and  if they dated, it wouldn't help the situation in any way. Draco knew she still wanted him as a friend, and although he was a little pissed by it, he also knew she still had feelings for him. Of course, it didn't stop them being _friendlier_ to one another. Draco found himself almost every day, dragging Hermione into empty halls to snog her or steal kisses from her when no one was looking their way.

Days became weeks, and in a blink of an eye, it was the day the Hogwarts Express left with those students that weren't staying in the castle for holidays. Both Draco and Hermione stood in at the entrance of the deserted stone bridge, watching the Hogwarts grounds one last time before January.

"Are you going to miss me?" Draco said with puppy eyes.

"You wish." She said jokingly at him.

"I… know there's still a week left for Christmas, but I wanted to give you this before you go." He said giving her a small parcel he kept in his coat, wrapped in bright red paper with a silver bow. The note said: **_Hermione Granger._**

"I know it's not that fancy, and don't get me wrong, I _wanted_ to give you something extravagant, but I know you don't wear stuff like that and.. I thought this would be a much more useful gift for you." he said  and he stopped himself from saying anything else, noting he was starting to ramble.

"Draco… you shouldn't have… I mean- I haven't gotten anything for you yet!"

"Oh, you can kiss me later, just grab it, Granger." She laughed and took the gift, opening it. A pink scarf. She took it out of the parcel and examined it; it was a long scarf made out of silk, plaided with purple and other shades of pink lines. The texture was very soft, and it was warm.

"Draco, it's beautiful." She said smiling.

"I charmed it so it'll always be warm. Wouldn't want you freezing to death like the other day at Hogsmeade." She blushed a deep shade of pink. "I'll wear it always. Thank you." She smiled putting on the scarf. They heard the train whistle, meaning it will be leaving in a couple of minutes and looked at each other.

"I guess we must go." She said. "Wait. Look up." And when she did, she saw a little branch of mistletoe growing magically above them.

"Mistletoe? You sneaky Slytherin." She said playfully.

"I wasn't sorted in that house for nothing." He said with a devious face, and he kissed her.

The kiss didn't last long, but it was romantic, passionate and at the same time tender. It was a kiss that said, _"I want to be with you, and one else but you"_. They were lost in their little world as the kiss spoke of their emotions their vocal chords could not. They broke the kiss and looked deep into each other's eyes as their foreheads rested against each other.

"See you in January."

 

_**October 1998** _

"'Hermione, Ginny told me you were charmed by someone?" Harry asked with an amused tone, at breakfast. Hermione was glad there wasn't a sight of Ron. For Hermione's sake, both Harry and Ginny decided to have lunch earlier some days, to keep Hermione company, who would rather wake up earlier than see Ron. And since he chose to ignore her completely, she preferred not see him at all.

"Yes… Although since you very well _know_ the spell, I thought I could you help me... I guess."She looked at him awkwardly, and Harry just continued biting onto his sausage, blushing a deep shade of pink. "Anyway, I can't remember with whom I dreamt with, and I've been trying to pin whoever it was, and I'm pretty sure I'll hex this person once I find him… or her for that matter."

" I can't tell you or help more than Ginny already did though. It's a very simple spell and like she told you, you may have been a character in the other's dream, but you also filled it with your mind."

"Pretty sure, it was him, Hermione. The note you received in your birthday clearly said you were the "prettiest of girls," so I doubt a girl wrote that." Ginny said, grabbing an apple.

"Maybe…"

After a long day of school, and weird stares directed at her, Hermione sat with Ginny and Luna in the Gryffindor common room. Although Hermione was reading a book, she couldn't concentrate further, with the number of questions the girl's asked her.

"Why did my best friend not only kissed but snogged with Draco Malfoy and I know it 2 weeks later?" Ginny shouted whispering.

"It's not big deal Gin, I mean, we agreed to stay friends." " _Friends?_  Hermione are you even listening to yourself? Merlin's balls please help me!"

"But you _did_ date on sixth year right?" Luna asked. Both Hermione and Ginny's head turned towards the blonde witch with a shocked look.

"What?" They said in unison, not-so-quietly.

"How did you know?" Hermione and Ginny asked. Even though Hermione never admitted directly to Ginny she had something going on with Malfoy, Ginny knew there was something. And after she corned her, she finally admitted she was indeed, involved in some way with him.

"Well, it was pretty obvious the attraction you two had. Besides, I saw you two kiss three times or so, near the lake when you thought no one was looking." Hermione had an astonished look. _If Luna saw, then how many others did?_

"Don't worry Hermione, I doubt others were seeing. I consider myself a very silent person. So I'm not easily spotted when I'm reading somewhere or anything like that. I didn't mean to eavesdrop as well, it was purely accidental." Hermione felt a little relieved at that. _Well, at least it was Luna of all people._

"So you did date then?"

"I.. well we _did_ kiss and maybe we also did some of things couples do, but we remained friends officially."

"Pity. You would do an adorable couple."

"And if you've _snogged_ already this year, I don't see why you don't become one!" Ginny said exasperatedly.

"It's not that easy Gin, besides that I was dating your brother less than a month ago, I don't want to get into any trouble for it."

"Trouble?"

"You know… Professor Snape?" She said, and Ginny nodded knowingly.

"What about him?" Luna asked.

"Snape _flipped_ when he caught Malfoy and Hermione almost kissing on the stairs the other day, and we don't know why. Hermione thought it may have something to do with Malfoy's father or something of the sort, but we aren't sure." Ginny explained, and Luna listened, pensive.

"Moving on from that issue, I genuinely think the dream I had was serious in some way.  Not only was it so real, but if someone charmed me then maybe they're trying to tell me something. All of the elements in the dream seemed to just fit together perfectly. I believe I almost have the answer to what it may be, but I still have to do research. I think fangs and wings are something we've seen before." She said standing up. Ginny and Luna nodded. Without the distraction of Draco Malfoy or any kind of boy, even though every now and then Blaise would make hints at her way, Luna began putting some pieces of the puzzle together. _Could it be…?_ She thought remembering DADA's class from more than a month ago, best to keep her thoughts to herself at the moment.

* * *

The constant devoting glances Draco threw at her, and numerous amount of stolen kisses that happened in the past two weeks, made Hermione think of their sixth year. She remembered with both feelings of longing and bittersweetness at the memories. How she had cherished those memories, all before… everything shattered. She decided to dismiss those thoughts away and chose better to enjoy her life. _The war is over, and Draco was never really part of Voldemort's followers, much like Professor Snape and Draco's mother were. So I mustn't feel sorry about the past._

She was headed for the library, the place where she would find all of her answers, but found Draco in the way instead.

"Hey beautiful," he greeted her and kissed her knuckles, the knuckles from the hand that had slapped him years ago. She blushed at the formality.

"Granger, there's no need to blush, I'm only telling the truth." He smiled, and ever so lightly placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

"Draco, I don't think this is helping us at maintaining the title of "friends" very much." _But you love it_ the back of her head told her.

"Only that, maybe I don't want that title anymore." He said grabbing her and hiding at the nearest pillar, where no student was around. "I don't believe, when we were in sixth grade you cared much about what we did when we were still friends, _Hermione_." The way he used her name made her shiver.

"Well, that was different." Their lips were inches apart.

"Different how?" He whispered the words in her mouth and before she could reply his lips were on hers. She knew she couldn't deny any longer how much she'd missed his lips. The soft yet firm grip he would have on her, and the seductive way his lips moved against hers made her invulnerable. By how things were turning, if she wanted to go to the library, she would have to use a charm to spruce up herself.

The memories came flooding at her like waves, all the times they would sneak into empty corners and declare with kisses how much they cared for one another.

"Draco," She breathed as his lips moved from her jaw to her neck. "We must- someone will see." And suppressed a moan when he nibbled a soft spot.

"Let them see. Let them see you're taken. _My witch…_ " He said, whispering the last part into her ear.

"But, right now, I need- the library, my dream.." She said with a weak voice. But Draco stopped at that, and Hermione regretted it a little.

"Yeah, the weird dream you talked about." He said looking sternly into her eyes, and she nodded. "Hermione I'm going to hex the twat that did this to you." She laughed and pushed him a little bit, making her way out of his grasp. "I won't let you, I think I'm capable of doing it myself." He smiled at her words.

"As you wish, Granger." He said with a cocky grin and dragged her back into the way towards the library.

"Where are you heading by the way?"

"I think I'll pay a visit to the Slytherin common room. I bet my mates have been crying nonstop in my absence." He threw a crooked smile.

"I'm quite sure." She snorted.

"Just as you'll be after I'm gone." He smiled and kissed her one last time before he left.

"See you later in the common room."

Hermione couldn't help but bite her lip as she saw him leave.

Draco paced through the halls, into the dungeons where the Slytherin common room was. He knew he hadn't been around it for the past week, but _Merlin forbid_ he liked much better to spend his time with Granger. He walked and sensed someone was following him. Shrugging the feeling off, he began walking quicker towards the common room. Just as he stood at the entrance, he saw a flash of obsidian before he entered the common room. _Don't be insane, you practically ruled these dungeons! It must've been nothing. _He thought to himself and entered.

Snape was this close at not only hexing, but harming physically his godson, if it weren't he quickly entered the common room. He was all impregnated with _her_ smell. He wasn't even near the dungeons when he smelled her. He was quite surprised at first, it wasn't common for a Gryffindor to roam around the dungeons without a particular purpose. But then as the smell came closer he could also feel something else. That's when he saw _him_ instead of her. Seeing him getting closer, he could not only smell her perfume but also a tingle of sweetness, a sweetness you could've only with a kiss. He, of course, not only flipped, but went livid. _How dare he?! Fondle so freely around my mate? Who does he think he is? Disobeying my orders when I explicitly told him NOT to mingle with Granger?!_ Snape knew, or rather, suspected they had kissed the time he found him in the halls. But his pendant and amount of charms stopped his veela to prove his suspicions, as well as the fast exit the boy made. Snape followed Draco, and the more he smelled her perfume mixed with his, the more enraged he was becoming; he wanted nothing more but to choke the last breath out of his godson. He knew he had more self-control for that, and it was his veela side speaking, but he couldn't suppress the feeling it made him feel the thought of Malfoy snogging with his mate.

_I think my time to make me announced has accelerated._

* * *

 Hermione spent the next hours searching in the library about creatures with fangs. She spent a good deal of time looking for vampires, but she then remembered vampires, although they had wings, they transformed into bats. But they didn't possess any wings in human form. She tried to recollect more information about her dream but knew the more the days passed, more she would forget about it. _Think Hermione, Think! What else about the fangs and wings? I was in the forest, where a delicious smell empowered me… Grey skin.. fangs… black wings and… glossy obsidian eyes._ Hermione panicked a little bit at her realisation and strode over the restricted section, where most books about dark magical creatures sat.

Her shaking fingers passed through the spine of the books as she silently whispered,

"S…T…U…V…" She trembled when she found the book she was looking for and began to read. Her eyes widened at her suspicions when everything in her dream seemed it was taken out of the exact same book she was reading. Her face was showered with realisation, and her blood turned ice cold. _It is entirely clear, the one of the dream was male…_ Hermione shook her head as and tried to pinch her arm as if trying to wake up from a nightmare. But she knew she wasn't dreaming. _Why did he, whoever he is, wanted to show me a dream with a veela in it?_ She tried to push the thought away, but she already knew the answer to that.

_Why?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the ones that didn' know, Unionem phantasias, is Latin for "Union of fantasies" or "Fantasies united", so you get the idea. =3


	7. Realisation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will also include more of Harry; I want the secondary characters to develop as well for my story, and not just stay in the background. I will include more of Lupin, Draco's family and Luna in the next chapters.
> 
> Please keep reading and send me kudos!

* * *

 

"You lied to me!" Hermione angrily shouted, coming through the Divination's class entrance facing Trelawney, who was cleaning the crystal balls.

"Hm? Excuse me? I don't think you are in my class, are you dear?" Trelawney said, adjusting her glasses. Hermione looked at her with perplexing eyes.

"Don't you recognise me?" _How daft must this woman be for not remembering the person she had a prophecy of more than a month ago?_ Seeing her face of confusion, fruitlessly trying to remember her, she pressed again.

"You seriously can't remember me?"

"I'm sorry dear I-"

"For Merlin's sake! I'm Hermione Granger! The person whom you "supposedly" had a prophecy of?"

"Oh yes, I do remember you now dear, how are you doing with, Malroy is it?" Hermione looked at her incredulously.

"It's _Malfoy_ , and not okay! Not since I realised, your predictions are nothing but a sham!" Hermione fumed. Her face was flushed with anger, and even though she was never rude towards teachers, Trelawney caused great indignation in the young witch.

"I don't understand what you're saying dear, I know Divination isn't always precise but a pro-"

"Bullocks!" Hermione threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "I knew I made the right choice dropping your class in third year! After all these years, I even believed you for a second. To think this woolly subject wasn't actually worthless-" She stopped, noticing she was now trembling, and before she said something Hermione would further regret, she stopped speaking. She took sharp breaths to calm down and stared at the teacher.

"My child, you seem rather troubled in your mind…" She said taking Hermione's hand in hers, entering a into a trance mode, almost as if the touch itself had caused it. Hermione, not caring about this, said,

" _Troubled?_ " She said, in half a whisper with a high pitched tone, taking her hand away from hers. "The only troubled one here is you if you think you can predict the future!" She backed away and made her way out of the classroom, only to be stopped by Trelawney's words.

"Thou who won't see yet the true eyes of love, who is blinded by false infatuation. Thou shall see soon... Your destiny is not to be with your current relationship of untrue emotions. Your true destiny lies at the side of a dear devoted friend. Thou must take away your blindfold and see." _I already heard this. I don't need repetition of this rubbish_ Hermione angrily thought. She reached the doorknob when she heard Trelawney's words again.

"But beware of the road happiness leads. Torn between the heart and love of two souls thou shall find theeself. Only one soul will remain broken in the end." _What? I didn't even tell her about the dream…_ She shook her head as she exited the room whispering "Brilliant."

Hermione sat in one of the small stairs in one of the endless corridors of the castle. As soon as she touched the ground, tears slipped from her eyes and fell, adorning her face and robes. _How could this happen to me?_ In all of Hermione's life, the thing she thought it would bring her fewer problems was her love life. Now it seemed her life practically revolved around it. She hadn't meant to cry endlessly, but the shock, the overwhelming feeling of her newfound discovery and her exploding towards a _teacher_ , were enough for her to momentarily collapse. She made a mental note, to apologise to Ms Trelawney later on, she was never rude to any teacher (with Umbridge as the exception). Not only did her love for Ron wasn't romantic, and she was falling in love with Draco, but she had an admirer; not just _any_ admirer, but it was a Veela. _How am I supposed to handle all of this before I go mental?_ She grasped her hair and head and felt a little breeze around here. _Ghosts…_ She looked up and saw Nearly Headless Nick approaching her gently from the corridor's end.

"Sir Nicholas, good afternoon," She politely said wiping her tears away.

"I heard crying back there, and I came," He said sitting next to her. "Is everything all right dear Hermione?" She smiled at her friend, not seeing him for a very long time.

"It's nothing really, I… just remembered never to trust a seer." She laughed humourlessly.

"Oh? And why is that?" The ghost inquired, now curious. She thought before talking, she'd never felt comfortable giving away details of her life with people, but she was too tired and to vulnerable to keep it quiet.

"Well, I had a prophecy of sorts, and when I realised it couldn't be true, Ms Trelawney just covered it up by telling me "the continuation" of I don't know…"

"I know divinations is not always precise Hermione, the future is always changing, but it doesn't mean untrue. I know some methods to predict the future aren't very _reliable_ , but when it comes to prophecies, we seers can't really help it, we actually do _see_ the future."

"I suppose- wait. Did you just say…?" Sir Nicholas nodded. "But I thought you were…"

"Muggle-born? I am, or rather, was." He laughed, and she blushed.

"My child, even though we are Muggle-born we are still wizards. Just as any other half-blood or pure-blood, the amount of magic in ourselves is the same. That being said, just as you are an average witch, you could've been born a seer or even a metamorphmagus. Although it is infrequent, it doesn't matter if you are Muggle-born or the daughter of pure-blood royalty. Why would you think then I was in the royal court being Muggle-Born? Being a seer is extremely rare if you ask." He further laughed, and Hermione couldn't help but look away in embarrassment. _You idiot,  what a silly question to ask! Of course the chances for a Muggle-Born would be the same as a Pure-blood or Half-blood!_

"But then, if you are indeed a seer, why didn't you teach us Divination? Professor Cuthbert Binns is a ghost, and he's still teaching." _Although his class is the most boring…_

"At the time the position was offered, I was much more interested in other affairs," Hermione decided not to question him about it, "And teaching is not something I am genuinely keen of."

"I would've much more preferred to have you in Divination than Trelawney in my third year." She said, and he smiled.

"I know you would have. But in reality, I never did experience with all branches of Divination, so even if I wanted, I couldn't teach things like crystal-gazing or cartomancy, which is essentially what is taught here. And even if I did, I couldn't do so with the same accuracy as I know palmistry, dream interpretation and fire-omens."

"It doesn't matter," Hermione, not crying anymore, laughed. "I think anything is better than listening to the daft woman predict nothing but sham." She said with a bitter tone. _Even though I wasn't awfully sweet to her, I still can't forgive I believed in her._

"I must question, why is it you believe her words are nothing but a sham? If I recall correctly she was the one who had the prophecy about the chosen one." Hermione looked up at the ghost meditating if she should trust him with what's being going on in her life.  She sighed, deciding to start from the beginning. _Here goes nothing I guess,_

"Well… At the beginning of the term, I was dating Ronald." She paused, regretting she ever spoke.

"Right, you separated not too long ago I believe?" He said and she looked down to the floor.

"Yes, it's true. Our break-up was heavily influenced by a "prophecy" Trelawney said to me. And I love him, I still do, but after the prophecy, I realised my love for him is fraternal. I believe his feelings for me are the same... But it didn't end well. Anyway, the prophecy said my destiny or happiness was with Draco. I decided to believe in it, for I was sort of involved with Draco Malfoy in my sixth year and I admit our feelings remained the same, but then after the war, I became Ron's girlfriend. And right now we are more-less like we were before, in sixth grade."

"I'm sensing a big but at the end of this," Sir Nicholas said, and Hermione laughed nervously.

"Y-yeah. _But_ , the other day I found out I was charmed with a sleep spell that joins consciousness and I don't know who cast it! And not only that but lately I've noticed that someone has been spying or watching me; I believe it is the same person from the dream." She finished.

"And why would this _stalker_ , be any problem between Draco and you, or the prophecy?" He said, and she looked sadder with her next words,

"That's the catch. I did some research and the person who charmed me nicely enough is none other than a Veela. And I do very well know that the only interesting thing for a Veela when already developed is their mate. I don't think a veela would just happen to fancy me and just show me he is one. And after confronting Trelawney, she kindly told me the "continuation" of the prophecy she had of me. Not only I'm pissed that she lied to me, but I fear I may well be some Veela's mate, and I know they can't live without them!" Tears were already forming again in the witch's eyes, and she was shaking. "I just don't know what to do. I don't even _know_ this veela, I don't know if they're full, half, a quarter veela... And I'm already in love with someone else! I've already asked Firenze for help, but I doubt I will be able to do it again. I feel like I'm slowly becoming mad." She said whispering the last words, realising her feelings for Draco were stronger than she believed. 

Sir Nicholas sensed the young witch had been passing through moments of immense stress. Ghosts, for some reason, were more sensible of human sensations than they were before, in their mortal lives. It was as if he could almost sense the same emotions she was passing through, and given their close proximity he could almost be sure she was close at having a mental breakdown from stress.

"Hermione I can nearly feel what you are feeling right now, and it is not pleasant in any way. I wish to help you, and I may not be a very skilled seer nor have the same power as centaurs have, as to deal with divination but," He smiled "I am, or rather was, either way you want to say it, a dearly skilled Legilimens." She looked up at him. "You will do that?"

"Yes, I'll look up your memories and the prophecy, and I believe that'll be enough for me to interpret from there." She nodded _Gods I feel so hopeless, having everyone "help" me in my situation, very much like a Muggle's soap opera._

Hermione felt Sir Nicholas trying to pass through her barriers in her mind, not harshly, but persistently. She wasn't a very skilled Occlumens, but she was trained for a few months on the basics if anyone of the order was captured by Voldemort and forced into questioning. She let her barriers down gently and led the way into her memories. It wasn't like with Firenze, when the centaur saw, he already knew what memories to search and how to look, with Near Headless Nick, she had to slightly remember the memories, and he would do the rest.

Hermione passed through the hallways, too dizzy and bewildered to even walk straight. She thought she was going to the library, but her feet dragged her towards her chambers. She thought about what Sir Nicholas had said to her. She couldn't deny it anymore. Not only she had the reassurance of three seers regarding her prophecy, but apparently as the dream had "showed" her, a veela was also indeed the other participant of the dream. _A veela…_ Hermione thought. She had no idea how to deal with her situation. Just as she was realising she's falling (or already was) in love with Draco, she finds out she is a veela's mate. _I can't just leave the veela to die.. can I?_ She also didn't have the remotest idea of how much veela blood does it has. _I mean, if it's not a full-blooded veela, it won't cause enough trouble if I don't bond with him, would it..?_ She shook her head, she was dizzy enough, and the news themselves overwhelmed her enough to think properly. She was too distracted to notice the dark eyes, which had a concerned curiosity, following her as she stumbled on one student or two, slowly making her way towards her chambers. _Gods Hermione, you're tripping on everyone, get a grip on yourself!_ She stopped, took a few breaths in and continued walking only to collide with a black, soft wall. "S-Sorry!"

She looked up, and she gasped when her eyes met with dark, obsidian ones.

* * *

 

Harry was sitting on the Great Hall, and seeming quite empty, he decided to do his homework there, but couldn't focus because thoughts of Ron and Hermione flooded his mind every 5 minutes. He was never an expert dealing with strained friendships before, and even though he defeated Voldemort 5 months ago, his social skills hadn't developed _much_. He cared dearly for both Hermione and Ron, but he knew their friendship won't be renewed until they decide to do so, and both of them were _very_ stubborn. Well, maybe Hermione wasn't that stubborn, but if Ron decided to ignore her completely she wasn't going to wait forever until he realised he was making a mistake. Harry knew that much, and he admired her for that. But he hated the times when Ron and Hermione decided not to speak to one another; he was forced to divide his time with each other.

He was glad Hermione was mature enough to try and resolve the problem. But failed to do so, as Ron wasn't as mature as her and still continued to ignore her just like he always does whenever he was mad at her. Harry sighed, _If I don't do something, Hermione might not want to come at all to the Burrow this Christmas. And Ron would only make things uncomfortable,_ But regardless of his best friends' quarrels, he was happy with the outcome of his life so far.

After the defeat of Voldemort, many students, magical creatures, teachers and helpful wizarding citizens helped rebuild Hogwarts. At ends of August, the school was almost reconstructed the way it was before the war. Even in October, there were still people who were in the castle, rebuilding some unfinished areas, and on free weekends, many students helped as well. Ilvermorny and schools like Beauxbeatons and Durmstrang sent help to rebuild Hogwarts. Not only was Hogwarts devastated after the war, the ministry asked for help from the consulate of other countries and magic areas around the world.  They helped rebuild Diagon Alley, Gringotts and also helped families who had lost everything in the war _. Just like after a Muggle war,_ thought Harry, _governments from other countries help reconstruct what was left in the war countries._ But just like any other war, the process of recovering was rather slow. Hogwarts was the fastest structure to regain stability though, it was urgent the students didn't remain without classes as well as staying without proper education specially those Muggle-borns who couldn't enter Hogwarts last year. It was  the only wizarding school in the United Kingdom after all, and many couldn't afford to send their children off to other countries. Everything else came afterwards.

Harry, just like  Ron, wanted to become an Auror. After the war, they both were at the brink of dropping out of Hogwarts, but Hermione insisted having their N.E.W.T.s would help them a lot even though Kingsley had much assured them a position in the ministry.

Remus agreed to help them with their early Auror training, but he decided training will start until ends of November. " _With all the things you've already went through, I don't believe you need three years of training!"_  he'd said sourly. He wanted some time to grieve Tonks, and to determine what exactly he was going to do with Teddy. Growing up with an Auror was dangerous enough, and it was even more with an Auror who was not just a single parent, but a werewolf. Molly, Andromeda, Bill and Fleur agreed to take care of Teddy in the weeks of full Moon and also while Remus had work or other affairs that kept him busy for taking care of Teddy. Harry, being his godfather, also volunteered to take care of him once he got out of Hogwarts.  _Poor Teddy, being a war baby and having a single parent left him being raised by many people._

Harry had inherited Grimmauld Place, and even though it still served as one of the Order's safe-houses, Harry settled to reside in it permanently together with Hermione, who decided she would live there until she found a place of her own. He also thought about moving places, the building still held too many darkness in it, but as for right now, he was comfortable living there.

He thought about living there with Ginny too. He was entirely sure he loved the girl, and although their official relationship wasn't that long, he knew there wasn't any other witch he would choose as a wife. He thought about marrying her, and even though they were still young to do so, he knew he wanted to propose to her in a year or so, having found his family heirloom in one of Sirius' little boxes he gave him in his fifth year. The box said "The Potters". He'd told him it was all they could recover after the attack, and he told him too, the ring belonged to the Potter family. It was an engagement ring that had been passed through generations, and now it was Harry's turn to give it to his future bride. _I can imagine my life with her…_ he started daydreaming and was taken away from his dream by a pat on his back from Ron.

"What is it, Ron?" Harry asked half-annoyed he was taken away from his daydream.

"Dean was asked, to ask you which of the 2 strategies that were proposed was going to be the final for the match against the Hufflepuffs this next month." Harry sighed. He still couldn't understand why new players decided to come to _him_ instead of Ginny, who was the actual team captain. _Oh, she is going to be mad when she hears about it._

"I'm not definitely sure, why don't ask Ginny? She is the team captain after all." Harry said piercing his eyes at Ron, who very well knew his sister was the captain. "But I'm hoping it'll  be the circle one, it has made us won many times. Haven't got time to discuss it with Ginny really, I've still got my mind wrapped up in what McGonagall said."

"You mean the thing with the death eaters and the murders against Muggle-Borns?" Ron said whispering, sitting down beside Harry.

"Yeah." _Thinking about it, even though the war is over, the few death eaters left  that were fugitives did pose, though still small, a menacing threat._

"Don't break yourself on that mate. If we defeated Voldemort, kicking some death eater's arse will be a doddle."

"I guess, but still, even though there have been only a few murders, they are still innocent victims. It could be anyone for what we know. And if we don't stop it before we go out from Hogwarts, it might not only grow, but they might target someone dear to us. What if Hermione was next? Would you still be relaxing if they killed her?" Harry could see the sudden paleness the redhead wizard had in his face. He knew Hermione was still a soft spot for conversation, but this wasn't child play, Hermione was in fact, still in danger. And Harry wasn't going to sit, take his tea, and wait for the threat to suddenly go away. 

"W-Well no, but she's the most intelligent witch of our generation! Or so they say, and I think she can take care of herself on her own." Harry just looked at his best friend open-mouthed.

"You did not just say that about Hermione! She's like my sister! And you love her! Don't be such a prat about her just because she left you." Ron was about to say something but Harry cut him, "Yeah I've said it. She left you and that's how life's sometimes. Grow some pants and accept the fact you weren't made for each other." Harry finally said. He'd never expected to bash Ron verbally like that, but he was dense enough to ignore the danger she was going through if they were still fighting.

Ron took a bright red colour on his cheeks, changing then to purple, after finally setting on the normal pinky tone he always had. Visibly calm again Harry spoke,

"Sorry, mate. Didn't mean to sound so hard, but Ron, you _must_ realise we aren't completely safe yet. Forget for a minute your quarrel with Hermione and take a look at the bigger picture."

"I know Harry, and I know I'm a git because she wants to talk to me but I'm still ignoring her… I don't want our friendship to end, and I've given much thought about it, and I think she was right. We love each other as brothers, but I'm not ready yet to take things back as they were." Ron said with a small smile.

"It's alright Ron, take your time. She'll understand."

* * *

Hermione's thoughts were far from euphoria and comfort. Instead, she met the obsidian eyes with a renewed sense of tremor and shock. She didn't want to move a single muscle nor breathe, for she didn't want the dark wizard in front to hex her, or worse- speak at all. She didn't know why she was feeling this, after all, she was the one who told Harry he wasn't really dead and called for a mediwitch, because she felt there was still hope and he wasn't to be feared. She also helped clean his name. But right now she was oozing with a fear she didn't know the exact source of.

The wizard in front of her seemed quite taken aback too, as if he didn't expect her to collide against him, or touch in any other way. She took a look in his eyes and saw they were slowly, yet discreetly, turning glossy black, even in the white of his eyes _Bright obsidian eyes…_ as she was slowly putting the pieces of the puzzle together, she smelled a scent more delicious than Amortentia itself. She breathed in, and even though her senses were now all groggy, the little logic she had left in her mind was capable of washing her over with realisation.

When Severus approached Hermione in concern, he didn't notice she hadn't seen him and stumbled against him. Even though both of them were fully clothed, the touch still did make an effect on Severus. His body went rigid, and he tried not to breathe; he was so close to her smell, it might trigger something in his mind and magic he couldn't control. He was glad the hallway was now empty, he had his pendant on, and he made sure to take five calming draughts before he approached her. At the same time as her, he looked down and meeting her beautiful brown eyes, and let the smallest gasp his lips would allow. The little air with her scent that came in his nostrils was enough to fill his brain of her perfume.

He knew it was too much magic for the pendant to bear and he felt his eyes turning black and knew she could see them. The pendant, being quite old, couldn't bear the magic anymore and Severus heard the slightest *crack* the pendant made, breaking itself. He couldn't stop himself, and even though he was still under the vague effects of the calming draught, he released some of his magical pheromones that would attract his mate. He could see the immediate impact they took on Hermione, her pupils dilated, her cheeks flushed, and she parted her lips. She then looked at him not quite dreamily, but with a renewed curiosity and affection, as if she was inspecting him. In-between of the hazy moment, he felt for a second horrified by his veela magic; the girl looked like she was _drugged_. Even though the pendant was now broken, some of its magic still worked, so the pheromones he released were not enough for anything too extreme to happen. He could see Hermione let out the tiniest gasps he's ever heard, and saw her eyes momentarily flash with fear and concern.

_She knew_

Severus tried with all his might stop his veela from snogging her right on the spot and take her to his chambers, to comfort her fears away. He quickly cast a Confundus charm on himself momentarily making himself stop releasing pheromones and as the effects wore off, Hermione shook out of her trance, looked at him with aghast and frozen eyes before she understood the why of his actions and fled the scene as fast as her feet would give.

Severus went and sat on the nearest bench, composing himself before his meeting with Minerva. _It's a loss, a complete loss, I've ruined it_ he miserably thought. Without the pheromones, he'd seen the appalled look on the girl, and he knew if he'd get any chance at all with the witch he'd ruined it. He remembered when he was young, the similar thoughts he had regarding his loss of hope about finding love.

**_Ends of March 1978_ **

It had been two years since Lily stopped talking to him and a year with two months since he knew he was a veela. _My life couldn't be bloody better_ he thought playing with the pendant between his fingers. After his seventeenth birthday, he began noticing changes in his body that would typically appear when reaching puberty. But these felt slightly different. He noticed he was stronger, his magical abilities grew, making him even more skilled in all of his subjects, his senses also sharpened, and he realised his looks were also somewhat better. He looked more handsome, his hair was a tad less greasy, and his skin also looked less sallow but being an outcast, nobody really noticed him. At the start, he didn't know what was causing his sudden physical changes but seeing the Dark Lord was pleased with his outcome, he didn't even bother to look his signs up. _If this continues as exceptionally as it has been, I'll receive the dark mark in no time_ Severus had thought somewhat happily.

The part of his body changes that didn't go as smoothly were his fangs. Those _did_ hurt. _A lot_. He was reading a book silently near the lake when an unbearable pain took over in his mouth and jaw. He fell to the ground, not being able to cast any pain-relieving charms on himself and he clasped his mouth with his hands. A bypassing girl saw him and fearing he might have seizures, called Mme. Pomfrey for help. After rushing him to the hospital wing, he fell unconscious.

_"The poor boy has been in pain since he got here." Madame Pomfrey had said to Dumbledore._

After arriving at the Hospital wing, she noticed the source of his pain. As Severus screamed, she saw the pointy fangs the wizard was growing and also saw his skin turning slightly grey. Fearing a vampire was roaming in the grounds of Hogwarts and had bitten a student, she noticed the Headmaster to come immediately because it was a matter of urgency.

_"I fear Mr Snape has been either bitten by a vampire or transforming into a veela." She'd said. " I can't be completely sure though. I know veelas have a much longer and painful process of transformation, and I don't recall his mother being one when she studied here. But if he were transforming into a vampire, his eyes would already be crimson by now." She informed Dumbledore._

_"I doubt there is a vampire in our grounds Poppy, the school reports the headmaster in charge of any unregistered creature entering the school grounds. I believe it's the other way around. If he has veela ancestry and his blood is awakening, we must inform his family immediately." Dumbledore said watching the now sleeping boy, who had a pained look on his face and marched away to inform his family._

Severus remembered the day his mother told him his true nature, crying for his unfortunate future. After running away momentarily into the rain, he reluctantly returned to his home, his mother made him swear he wouldn't tell his father. _"You know how your father is, he despises us enough because we are magical, and if he found out we're not entirely human…"_

Severus knew his father and mother always fought, they did when he wasn't home, hey did when he _was_ home, and he presumed they did even before he was born. He never really understood why his mother married him. Not only was his father always drunk and angry, but he was a _Muggle_. His had mother told him he wasn't like that when they met. He was nicer, and although he was hard-natured, he wasn't nasty. She told him it all changed when she revealed she was a witch. After that, he didn't want to do anything with her anymore, but she found out she was pregnant with Severus. And it explained his horrible childhood, friendless, except for Lily.

After a long talk with his maternal grandfather, he decided to actually give it a go with his veela blood and decided to find his mate. When he returned to Hogwarts, he tried to look for his mate (with the hope of it being Lily) but returned home that summer with a bitter disappointment when none of his classmates or any student in the school was his mate.

His uncle told him he didn't need to worry, quarter veelas sometimes didn't find their mates, and it was somewhat okay. Severus wouldn't live as long as his peers but, he wouldn't face the heart-broken death half, three-quarters and full veelas met when they didn't find theirs. So much relief he thought sarcastically. He gave him then, the pendant. The amber pendant with enough magical power to make him live longer, the only consequence being it also suppressed his ability to find his mate. Before going home from his uncle's he'd told him, remembering,  _"You know Severus... it is quite rare, but there have been cases where a quarter or a half veela's mate is much younger than them."_  Severus only looked at him without fully understanding and his uncle cleared his throat, _"What I meant to say is... whoever your mate will be, she might be a baby o not even be born yet. But it is very rare I'm telling you. If that's the case then... you'll know when she reaches the age of maturity. Before that you won't even know it's her. Don't lose hope."_ Severus had only left his uncle's house with a disgusted face and feeling quite offended.

If he thought having now inhuman powers or magic would do his life better, he thought wrong. Even with the little appraisal the Dark Lord gave him over the others, Severus knew he couldn't take away the pain in his chest of a broken heart. He didn't care about veelas dying of a broken heart, he was pretty much already dead inside, having the girl you love entirely avoid and ignore you. Severus, still regretting the memory of his fifth year, wanted so desperately to be in possession of a time turner. Even though he was a veela or whatever, if he had one, he could've easily avoided his worst moment of all his life until now. The punishments and dark magic performed on him by the Dark Lord meant nothing to the shattering of his soul. Little by little the pieces of his broken soul left his body, leaving him miserable. He didn't care he was starting to sound like a girl, but he learned, _If you want to succeed in life, conceal, conceal, conceal your feeling at all costs…_

 _If there is a god of any kind in this world, he must surely hate me,_ were his constant thoughts as he passed through the halls of Hogwarts watching with hatred and misery the repulsive hand of Potter intertwined with Lily's.

He wasn't exactly sure when it had happened, but he was sure somewhere over the past summer they had become a couple because the first thing he saw on the first day of his seventh year was the horrid view of them _snogging_. But even if he wanted to hex the bloody swine away from his ex-best friend, he knew since the moment he discovered he was a veela, he wasn't meant to love nor be loved.

_And I thought entering Hogwarts would be my road towards happiness. I guess, my mother was right, I'm meant to be unfortunate for the rest of my life._

**_October 1998_ **

Hermione spent the rest of the day wrapped up in blankets, reading non-stop in the little common room the head students had. She tried reading the biggest, most tiresome Arithmancy and rune books she could find in the library.

After the _unexpected_ encounter with… Professor Snape, she found herself in the library. Almost mechanically, she picked up the books that would most probably keep her mind away from what just happened. After retrieving an obscene quantity out from the library, as mechanical as in the library, she entered the common room and immersed herself in the world of runes and magical mathematics. She managed to keep Draco away for a few hours, telling him she might have an apprenticeship concerning Arithmancy and she wanted to be prepared. This worked of course for almost 6 hours, but Draco knew her well enough to suspect there was more to it than just "educational reading".

"Ok Granger, so what really is happening inside your head? I don't think those books are for a possible apprenticeship, I believe they're more of a distraction." Draco said, removing the current book she was reading, too numb to immediately process what was going on.

"Uh? S-sorry?"

"You see? You weren't even paying attention to the book! Granger, before I lose my head here, care to explain what is going on in yours?"

"I…." Hermione's mind was spinning with overwhelming thoughts creeping inside from past days, and before she could feel anything, Draco was touching her cheeks with her hands.

"Why are you crying?" He softly asked. _Crying?_ Her hands went up to her face, and she felt the fresh, wet droplets falling from her eyes. _I'm crying…_ She felt her vision getting blurry from the now unstoppable tears flooding her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry D-Draco." She said, failing to contain back a sob.

"What for?"

"I don't believe being together will help much in the future." _Being together…_ Hermione thought, remembering the actions his godfather had in the past when they almost kiss, and she realised now the why. She couldn't help herself as heavier tears rolled down on her face and she began sobbing.

"Hermione? Hermione, what's wrong? You can tell me. And why can't we be…together?" Draco spoke in a soft, yet pained voice. Hermione hated hearing him like this. She wanted to tell him so badly, but she knew she couldn't, not yet. _I can't tell him I'm practically his godfather's source of living!_

"Draco… remember the dream… I had?" She said in-between sobs.

"The one of the charm?" He asked and she nodded her head.

"I found… something about it; it was disconcerting, yet true. And I believe its meaning might jeopardise our current relationship." Draco's face hardened for a moment but then relaxed when she touched his arm.

" _Why would a dream jeopardise the best thing that has ever happened in my life?_ " He whispered to her and she blushed, her heart doing a flip over as it pounded against her rib cage. She felt happy for a moment but grimly remembered her life did a 180º turn _again_.

"Do you know who cast it?"

"A veela." She spoke without emotion in her voice. There, she said it. _At least he will understand why I'm reacting like this._

"A _veela_?" Draco's blood turned icy cold, and he felt he couldn't breathe anymore. Even though he didn't exactly pay much attention to the lesson about them, he understood the general layouts of them.

"Are you entirely sure about it?" She nodded, and he grasped his hair in his hands.

"I-I don't know what to…" He suddenly stopped "And you know _who_ it was?" She stood silently with eyes that could not lie, eyes which stood naked in front of him.

"Hermione, do you know who it is?" He pressed taking her shoulders softly in his hands, and she kept silent with teary eyes.

"You _know_ who it is!" He spoke alarmed yet without any aggression. "Please tell me." He said softly at last, and she shook her head as more tears fell down her cheeks.

"I-" They heard a knock on their door and Hermione felt relieved she escaped briefly from the interrogation. She wiped her damp face as Draco went and answered the door. She silently cast a cleaning spell on her face when she heard Draco calling her.

"Granger? McGonagall is calling us to the Head Master office."

"Both of us?" she said in a small voice.

"Yes, the message said it was urgent." She nodded, and they made their way towards the office.

Hermione was arm crossed, clutching her chest and was silent the whole way. She didn't only fear Draco would speak any time by now but also feared she knew McGonagall wasn't the only headmaster in charge now. They reached the office and silently thanked Merlin, there was no Professor Snape. _Snape..._ a shiver went down her spine with the sole thought of his name.

In the room, they were Harry, Ron, Luna, Ginny and Minerva.

"You wanted to see us… Minerva?" She managed to say, hesitating on her name. "Oh yes, Hermione." The witch said a little bit delighted, at last, speaking on a first name basis.

"I've wanted Severus to be here as well, but he told me dismally so, he couldn't accompany us tonight. I believe he had some personal affairs to attend to, or so he told me." Hermione didn't look up, and she guessed the reason of the Headmaster's absence. Either way, she was glad he wasn't there.

"Back to the topic, what I'm going to inform you must be kept in secrecy and it is only to be spoken within the Order, and well, some of you who most probably join in the future." The six young wizards nodded, and she continued. "I'm very sorry to inform you, four Muggle-Born wizards, who didn't return this year to Hogwarts, were found dead in a town close to Diagon Alley. The Creevey brothers included." Hermione gasped. Meanwhile, Harry and Ron only looked down, with a hard expression, Ginny and Luna, just looked sad.

"I know Colin was a friend of yours, but this is why I called all of you. Students here are protected, and even though some Aurors are patrolling Hogsmeade from time to time, we can't afford losing more innocent lives. We must take full precaution, and even more in the winter holidays, where most students leave the castle." McGonagall continued, speaking about some security measures that should be taken before any other attack, but Hermione didn't want to listen to all of this anymore.

_Life can sometimes have so many unexpected twists…_

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping you're all enjoying this story as you now see it's not you typical love triangle here *nervous laugh*


	8. Avoiding eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're all liking my story!
> 
> Please enjoy it and leave kudos if you like it!

* * *

 

_Bliss. A never ending feeling of peace and calmness passing through the wind. Nothing can stop me now, I'm invincible… he thought. Fully clothed with white garments, he was floating, white feathers falling from the white, bright sky, embellishing the little black pine trees sitting in the white space around him. Walking slowly, his bare feet could feel the white snow-like ground filled with feathers below them. The smell of vanilla combined with lavender became stronger as he walked, and he willingly approached the scent. The scent which dazes me, and calls my name… Looking deeper into space with scattered black pines and falling feathers he could see her sitting by a little pond with translucent water. She looked up at him, and their eyes locked, filled with emotion. Also barefooted, she wore a thin white dress, emphasising her brown curls. Her hair was ornamented and tangled with the white feathers, and she smiled at his sight. He came closer to her, and she extended her hand as if to guide him somewhere. _

_Walking through the pines, he could feel her hardening the grip she had on his hand. "Hermione…" He whispered, and she turned around, with her soft rosy lips parted and her deep brown eyes glassy. He caressed her smooth cheek with his finger, and she smiled, a crystal clear tear falling from her eye, dropping on the floor, making a red water ring. She stood tip-toe and only when her face was inches from his, he felt her sweet, velvety lips. Although quite lovingly, the touch only lasted mere moments because when he opened his eyes, she was already walking away from him, straight into the pines._

_He called her name one last time "Hermione!" before she looked at him with sad eyes, as a big, black, faceless being, with an an enormous pair of obsidian feathered wings cloaked her entirely and disappeared into nothingness._

_He tried to reach out to her, but couldn't, and suddenly he was now swimming, drowning into the single tear she shed before evaporating with the black, faceless, winged entity. He tried to scream for her, reach for her, but the oxygen in his lungs wasn't enough. His bravery wasn't enough._

_Wasn't enough to save her._

Draco woke up with sweaty clothes, and his heart was almost escaping his rib cage. He took a moment to process his dream, and he looked at his surroundings, his eyesight still a little blurry with white spots at his sudden awakening. _This damned dream._ _The situation is getting on my nerves, I must know who is this veela._ It was a Saturday, and by the little room his heavy dark curtains allowed, the sun was making its way into his room. _Bloody sun_ he mentally cursed. The overflowing sunlight that illuminated his room wasn't much. But it certainly made a huge difference comparing it with the Slytherin's dorms, which laid on the dungeons.

He missed that about them. He missed the darkness about them, but aside from that, he liked his new chambers better. Not only he liked them better because he had a whole room for himself in the school, but he got to be closer to Granger, _and_ it was indeed warmer. It's not like he despised the cold, his manor was always cold, and being in the dungeons, the humidity and being underground played a significant role in that too. And it didn't matter if the fire in the Slytherin common room was always lit, it was still cold in there. He got accustomed by it, always feeling somewhat cold, but he certainly did welcome the new warmness with open arms. But having a warm space _did not_ mean he welcomed the sun rays. At all.

He finally got out of his bed and remembered painfully the events of last night. Poor Hermione was not only stressed out enough with the damn veela thing, but death eaters were still roaming around, and she wasn't safe. He knew she was a strong witch, but even the smartest and the toughest witch of all had moments of weaknesses. Draco wanted so badly to question her about the veela. She knew, and it was evident she wanted to keep it to herself. _But why? Who could it possibly be that she doesn't want me to know? Is it someone I know?_

Draco shook his head and dressed. He decided to go for something to eat and bring something to Hermione too. Yesterday she wasn't at dinner, and he knew she had been too engrossed in her books to keep her distracted. _And those were the times I didn't catch her, I don't know how many meals she has been skipping already._ After returning from the meeting with McGonagall, she politely asked him to please refrain from any questioning. She was too tired for it. So after she had said goodnight and her door was shut closed, he supposed she had slept immediately, for he didn't hear a sound.

* * *

 

Pacing around the corridors, Draco's mind went to his bushy bookworm. He'd hoped to buy Hermione something nice to comfort her. Not that he didn't know how to emotionally or physically do so, but it was a pure-blood courtesy to buy something mildly expensive to those dear to them when they were passing through moments of difficulty. He knew his father would just shake his head and disinherit him if he found out about it. Draco could almost hear him saying, _"That Mudblood she calls herself a witch? What would your ancestors think of this? I knew I should have put you in Durmstrang! I should've put you in marriage contract! That way your children would've been born pure! But your mother insisted on leaving it up to you. I believed in her. Believed my son would make me proud of the name Malfoy, but I was wrong. Tsk, a person who has gone soft with mudbloods, is useless to bare even the name Malfoy!"_ Even though he knew his father couldn't disinherit him because practically everything now belonged to Draco, the ministry still gave his father some power to control over his galleons until he graduated from Hogwarts.

He couldn't just go to Gringotts and ask for his fortune; it wasn't that simple. Apart from that he was at Hogwarts and couldn't have the power until he left, most of the properties and things his father owned had to be processed and stuff like that. Draco sighed. _Mum is in real need of a new manor, and I can't wait to sever all ties with the death eaters' contracts, and such my father had._

Reaching the Great Hall, he took a seat at the Slytherin table and was glad he found Blaise in it. _A refreshing talk to refresh the mind_ he thought before sitting himself beside him.

But Draco found he couldn't quite concentrate on Blaise though. He couldn't stop feeling the glare the Weaselette was sending him over the Gryffindor table. He sighed, and excusing himself, he walked to the Gryffindor table and decided to ask her about it.

"What is it red? I know we couldn't care less about each other, but Granger made me promise not to insult you, and here you are, keep sending glares at me." She looked up at him, with piercing eyes but said nothing. "What is it?" He pressed, not minding being nice at all.

"Well, Hermione didn't make _me_ promise her anything, _ferret_. And it's nothing, you imagine things." She said venomously, looking away.

"Yeah, like I would believe that. I am sure your glances of pity  towards me mean something. Have you finally realised Potter is nothing but a wanker and decided to fancy me?" Her face went red with anger, and with a half-laugh, he continued, "Sorry to disappoint, but I already have my mind set with another witch far more charming and intelligent than _you_. But I could present you my friend Blaise over there. I'm sure talking all day about Quidditch will keep your mind entertained for the day." Draco knew he had pushed it too far, for the redhead slammed her book down the table and stood up to face him, taking out her wand and pointing it at him.

"Listen Malfoy! I don't care for any of your friends, and I couldn't care less for you! Hermione is my best friend, and I have to be civil towards you. _But_ , say one more thing about Harry, and I won't even bother to think twice before hexing your arse!" She said at last with defying eyes and her wand firmly raised at him. _The girl does have a temper; I'll give her credit for that_ Draco thought and looked at her with narrow eyes.

"Fine, I'll leave my honest thoughts of Potter aside if you tell me why were you glaring me as if I were to explode… And keep your wand away from me." He said moving, with the tip of his finger, her wand away from his face.

"I wasn't glaring at you because your head is going to explode nor because I fancy you," She said with an indignant face. _Like that would offend her_ thought Draco and she continued "I just happened to see you and remembered that you may have competition now. That's all. I may be a _little_ sorry for you because as hard as I want to admit, you do make a lovely couple. So if that's a pitying look, then yes, I was glancing your way with pitiful eyes." She told him with a raised eyebrow and arms crossed. _Wait, she knew?_

"So, you're telling me you know who this veela is?" She looked at him mildly surprised.

"A veela? What are you ranting about? I was talking about her secret admirer."

"A secret admirer?" He said with aversion.

"Yes. The admirer that won't stop looking at her and sent her that birthday message. We are certain he is in our potions class. That's where she told me she could feel the glare the most." _That must be the veela Hermione talked about. In our potions class? I couldn't imagine any bleeder from our class to be a veela._

"Are you sure it was in your potions class?"

"Yes. Hermione told me she could feel his glare from time to time, and she felt it the strongest in that class. We were going to find out who it was, but since then, Snape hasn't given us the silent treatment, so we haven't found him." Draco looked pensive and frowned. _So if anything, some pillock of our class is a veela. I must too, be on the lookout for this… rival._ Ginny took him out of his thought.

"You said something about a veela. What about it? Is Hermione's admirer one?" _Apparently, Granger hasn't told her._

"I… can't be sure. But if you're so interested, why don't ask _her_?" Draco said before grabbing a plate of cheerios and a biscuit for Granger before leaving.

"I might as well do," Ginny said under her breath when Draco left.

* * *

 

It was almost noon when Hermione finally woke up. She was feeling not only tired but moody as hell too. She didn't want to talk to anybody, and she was hoping to disappear and instead live in a dimension where she was a lovely house cat who didn't have the need to worry about human emotions. She looked up to Crookshanks, who was sitting quite comfortably at the end of her bed, and she stretched herself to pet him. "If only I could be you… the only thing I would have to worry about is to look after my next pray." She whispered to him. _But it's nonsense, and it's irresponsible as such. I can't just ignore the facts that lay right in front of me!_ She washed her face and teeth and finally went out of her room, almost an hour later, not minding her hair nor the fact she was still wearing pyjamas. She made her way to the common room and saw Draco sitting on the couch reading a book.

"Good morning sleeping beauty. I must say, you look quite ravishing and refreshed today." He said mockingly, and she just glared at him.

"Shut up Malfoy, I'm not in the mood." She said sitting on the other side of the couch, and he looked up at her.

"I brought you something to eat. Don't think I haven't noticed your lack of appetite these past days. And even though I couldn't care less about your nutrition, I thought you might want something to eat." He said with a cocky smile. She rolled her eyes at him and saw the plate of cereal and the biscuit laying on the little table they had. She knew Draco was worried about her, end even though he wouldn't admit it, he _did_ care about her nutrition.

"Thanks." She said smiling at him and grabbed the bowl, bringing it to the couch with her.

Draco, looking at her cat with a defying look said, "I'm quite offended the way your cat dares to put some space between us." She laughed. _Merlin, I love her smile._

"Draco I'm sure Crookshanks means nothing of the sort. And given the case he does mean it, it'll probably be for my protection. He is brilliant you know."

"He's very much like his owner." Hermione smiled a little bit and looked down into her bowl and said, "I wouldn't prefer it any other way though. Keeps my conversations with him interesting." He raised an eyebrow at her, and she blushed from embarrassment. _What did you just say? Hermione Granger, I'm hoping you did not insinuate just now you don't only talk, but hold entire conversations with your cat!_

She looked down, and seeing she was bright as a tomato, he chuckled.

"It's ok Granger. I think everybody has their…moments from time to time." He said now laughing, the cat only looking at him with hatred eyes that told him he'd understood their conversation.

"Oh shush it. Crookshanks is brilliant, and it wouldn't impress me he would say wiser words than you if he could talk." She said looking away, and taking his cue, the cat sat on her lap.

"Oh come on Granger, you know I don't really mean it. But it's not my fault your bloody cat doesn't like me! In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you were the only living thing he doesn't despise." He said scooting closer to her, now that the cat was out of the way.

"It's not true, Crookshanks is an adorable cat to be around. He lets Ginny pet him. He just needs someone to rely on…" She said leaving her bowl on the little table and stroked the cat's head. _I don't know if I'm talking about Crookshanks anymore…_ When she looked up, Draco was next to her, with a stern look on his face, looking right into her eyes. She gasped, and the movement made Crookshanks jump out from her lap and ran up the stairs to her room.

"You scared him!" She accused half-jokingly.

"Good. He was only getting in the way."

They looked into each other's eyes and ever so delicately, passed his finger through her left cheek and went down until he was lightly caressing her neck with his thumb. She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch and he smiled. _Even now, with her heavily dishevelled hair, and barely noticeable dark circles under her eyes, she still looks beautiful to me. I couldn't think of a day without seeing her… Am I falling in love? Or did I never stop loving her? …_ Draco couldn't entirely solve the puzzle because the eyes of the witch he had in front of him opened and they locked with his. Without thinking it twice, he leaned forward and gently kissed her.

It was a sweet, tender kiss at first making it seem he was worrying her delicate lips would break from it. He deepened the kiss, and he could taste the savour of the cereal left on her, but also the candy-like taste that always lingered on her mouth, on her lips. He embraced her, and one hand went up to tangle itself on her messy yet soft hair, meanwhile the other rested on her lower back. She returned the kiss with earnest and locked her arms around his neck. She brushed her nails against the back of his neck, sending shivers all over him and she smiled against his lips.

They sat on the couch snogging for more than a few minutes until Draco felt something scratch his chemise. At first, he didn't even bother to look at his but had to break the kiss when he felt something scratch his exposed skin. He hissed and looked the damned cat, looking up at him with innocent eyes. He mouthed bloody cat at him.

"What happened?" Hermione said, startled by his sudden retreat.

"Your fur ball you call a cat. That's what happened." He said pointing at his slightly torn shirt and a thin scratch on his abdomen, caused by the cat. Hermione's lips turned into a round 'o' and scolded her cat "Crookshanks! Oh Draco I'm sorry, are you fine?" She said to him and he nodded.

"I believe he was jealous." She smiled.

"And I do believe he has a reason to be it. I admit before we started…snogging and stuff, I thought he might even like me. He even let me pet him once the other day." She blushed but said nothing about it.

"Here, I'll mend your shirt, and I'll look for a healing potion."

"It's fine Granger. The spell is easy, and I think with a little water should be okay with it. It's not that much of an injury."

"If you insist. I'll take a shower then, I can't believe it's almost three in the afternoon, and I'm still wearing pyjamas!" he smiled at her.  "You go do that." And he threw a final menacing look at the cat before it strode triumphantly towards her chambers.

The evening was pleasant. Both wizards deciding to stay in their head-students dorm for the day until it was dinner. They talked about what was left of the day, and Draco noticed how Hermione was avoiding at all costs the events from past days. Every time he would say something remotely close to it, she would avoid his eyes and change the topic. So he decided until Sunday to tell her.

"So…" He said when both of them were in the common room at night, reading a book by the fire.

"So…?" She smiled at him.

"About the other day… the veela thingy." Her smile dropped almost immediately and avoided his gaze.

"What about it?" She quietly asked, and he sighed.

"Granger… are we going to pretend like it never happened or are you going to finally tell me? I've been going mental for the past days, and I don't believe it's fair for you either." She bit her lip and stood silent for a long moment before responding.

"I'm… still processing everything right now and, I want to tell you, I really do. But this will harm you deeply, and I know it. I think I need a couple of more days if you don't mind." She smiled.

"It's okay Granger, take your time." He said hugging her.

* * *

 

Days passed, and as much as she hated it, it had already been almost 2 weeks, and she still stayed silent. She and Draco were still treating each other the same, but she knew he was getting more and more concerned about the name she wasn't giving him. And also there was the time. He had given her time, and she had abused it. She felt guilty every time she saw his pleading eyes begging her silently for the name, but she was afraid. Afraid of how Draco would react.

They entered potions, and like every single day, since she discovered the truth, Professor Snape would be mostly absent from his classes or would quickly leave. It had become somewhat of a routine. Professor Snape being absent with a potion's name and book number on the board along with a deadline and vials attached to it. And if he were in the room he would do exactly the same thing, the only difference being Snape giving the instructions and then leaving. She knew she was causing this, and even though everyone was relieved he wasn't there, Snape couldn't just avoid his classes for much longer. She realised they were going over past potions, so there was no need for Professor Snape to judge or revise them. But looking over the book pages, they were slowly approaching new potions, and she knew sooner or later, Professor Snape just couldn't abandon his class any longer.

And just like in sixth grade, Ginny cornered her about his secret admirer days ago.

_"I know Malfoy may be the only one who knows but, is the word veela inside the context of your secret admirer?" Damn Draco, He must've slipped and accidentally told her she mentally cursed._

_"Ginny, I want you to know it's not that I don't trust you, you know you're my best friend. I discovered it not too long ago, and my mind has been everywhere since I found out. Sorry for not letting you know sooner, but yes, my secret admirer- is a veela." Ginny's factions softened and smiled._

_"I know how you must feel, having an impossible romance with two wizards. Wicked!" She exclaimed, and Hermione only looked pained "But, do you know who it is?" She said, and Hermione sighed._

_"That's something still pretty tough for me to digest so…" She said, and Ginny understood._

_"I get it. Don't worry there, whenever you're feeling ready, you know where I am."_

Hermione sighed as she did her potion. _It's not like I'm obliged to instantly like him just because I may be his mate… right?_ But deep down inside of her, she knew she _was_ indeed his mate. She had tried to at least confront him, to make him explain, or… _something_. But every time she _felt_ him or see him near she would freeze completely and make a panicky escapade as fast as she could. Even though she was being irrational, she just couldn't keep her mind focused at all times now, and she was beginning to feel irritated by it. _I can't just concentrate on my personal life, I must study for the N.E.W.T.s! _

Spending her days at the library and talking with her friends, she found she needed a constant distraction. Something that would keep her mind away from her dreaded future. She somewhat saw her situation as a responsibility, and the thought of being with Draco made her only feel guilty about it. _It's not like we're a couple but… morally it feels as if I'm cheating..?_ She shook her head at the mere thought of it. _Nonsense! I shouldn't feel guilty about my feelings for Draco! I should be with whomever I desire. It's not my fault I'm someone's mate!_ "I didn't choose any of this!"

"Choose what Miss Granger?" Hermione froze at the words from the person she happened to be avoiding these past weeks. _Apparently, I said that last part out loud. Smart move there, Granger._ She knew she couldn't just run away from her teacher, not at the sight of other students and even less when she hadn't confirmed he was indeed a veela and she was his mate. She slowly turned around and with eyes closed said, "I was only thinking out loud sir."

When she finally looked up, she saw he was keeping a relatively far distance from her, for someone who was having a conversation with, and he was looking away from her. _He must be avoiding my eyes…_

"Tsk, silly girl. Keeping your thoughts scattered around for everyone to hear. I thought being you the student who came here the most knew one must keep quiet at a library." He sneered and she blushed. He continued, "Must be feeling lucky Voldemort didn't get to catch you. Otherwise, you would've doomed us all." He said with a cocky tone. She only felt mad. _Who does he believe himself to be? Not only he didn't thank us at all when we saved his arse, but he was the one buttin' in my conversation with myself!_ She thanked for a moment he wasn't looking at her because she was pretty sure she was red as Ginny's hair by now.

"If you must know _sir_ , I was trained a little bit in Occlumency. So I highly doubt I would've been the _doom_ for all of us, as you put it." Hermione said, saying the last part quietly.

"Did you know, Occlumency doesn't give you a definite assurance your mind will be impervious? Only highly skilled occlumens can have that pleasure." She looked at him with irritated eyes.

"And did you _know_ , it's deeply discourteous to look away at the person you're talking to?" She said it. She didn't think she had the nerve, but the words came out naturally from her mouth, not caring she wasn't using _sir_ anymore. He only raised an eyebrow and hissed "Is this what this is about?" still, without looking at her. She took the advantage no one was where they were and said louder, "Is this why you won't look at me?" That did it. He looked at her in the eyes, and she saw then the whole of his eyes were metallic black, but she sensed they were more of anger than everything else.

She was surprised he didn't scare her anymore. Well, not like he used to. Before, she would be terrified to the bone at the mere thought of her teacher but because of how strict and cold he was. Not anymore. She found herself with a new feeling of fear. The type of fear you would have when not knowing what was going to happen. No, she wasn't afraid of the man in front of her; she was afraid because _she didn't know what to do_. She tried to swallow her fear and just stood straight and kept looking at him right in the eye, noticing he was still a relatively far distance from her.

"Insolent child, don't you have any respect to your professors? I won't let any student of mine treat me so disrespectfully." He seethed and took a step backwards. _As if I could almost sense he's also… scared?_ Hermione took her chances and took two steps forward determinately. He, noticing this, tried to take another step backwards, but failed as she too, made another one ahead. And he scowled.

"How dare-" he started but was cut off by her.

"But I'm not just one of your students am I?" She said, and although she said with a trembling voice, she had a stern face. _I don't know where did I get the nerve to talk to him like this, but I can't back away now_. She could see an immediate response from him. His factions softened a bit, and even though he still oozed with an eerie feeling, she could look at his eyes. His bright obsidian eyes, although still jet black, they didn't have the same look of anger they had before.

He finally said, lowering his eyes, "No. You are not." He looked back at her, and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

She looked into his eyes and saw sadness she hadn't seen before. _I didn't know our eyes could hold so much emotion._ She felt sorry for him. It too wasn't his fault he was a veela, and it indeed wasn't his fault she was his mate. Hermione could barely perceive the sweet aroma that had empowered her before. But it was less this time. Instead of making her a drooling zombie, she only felt… comforted. She let out the littlest smile and looked down. He, of course, noticing it, adventured and walked a tiny step towards her. Before he said anything she intercepted, "You are indeed a Veela aren't you?" and looking up to him his only response was "Yes." Ever so quiet so only she could hear him.

"And I presume I'm your mate?" She said with her heart racing, waiting for the answer she already knew.

They waited for long, desperate minutes until his pained voice replied "Yes." She couldn't help her eyes watering, and she looked down. She couldn't help the sudden urge to scream. To vomit. To faint. To… _anything_. She found she didn't feel repulsed by him but… she didn't know exactly what was she feeling. At all.

"I need time." Was all she managed to say to him before walking away from the sharp, obscure gaze which followed her.

* * *

 

Severus didn't quite understand the crazy-haired witch when she had told him " _I need time._ " He guessed it couldn't be an awful thing though. _She actually didn't reject me on the spot, but she didn't either accept my courtship as a veela. The reason must be Malfoy_ he thought with disdain. _If it weren't for him, she would've already at least accepted an honest, innocent courtship_. Not like Draco, Snape wasn't patient. It hadn't been two days after she told him she needed her time when Severus already had resumed his presence in his potions class, and ever so discreetly, he stared at her. He _knew_ this made her forever uncomfortable. Not only did he see her fidgeting with herself, but her potions weren't 100% perfect, and she talked a lot more with the female Weasley.

He'd resolved his little "problem" with the pendant with a brew of his own. After paying a visit to, the now-retired Professor Silvanus Kettleburn, he was able to get the information he needed for the potion. The ingredients weren't complicated to find, and the potion wasn't as strenuous as others. Yes, it was somewhat challenging, but at least it was done in minutes if done correctly. The only adjustments he had to make were the duration, it's power, and the hair needed. As this potion was made for wizards to take instead of veelas, he had to put one of Hermione's hair instead of one of a veela. In a day where she was deep inside a book in the library, he silently and delicately cut a few of her hairs with magic to put in the potion. He also had to double its effect, as it would only last a few hours. It was as effective as the pendant, and although he couldn't now resist the sweet perfume of hers, he could control his pheromones and veela urges more. He had to take it every 4 hours for it to work correctly, _I feel like Bartemius Crouch when he was disguising himself as Moody, such disgusting feeling_. He scowled at the thought but knew he couldn't just refuse to take it. Besides, he would drink it as discreetly as a glass of water. _Nothing suspicious there_. Or so he thought.

His evidently piercing, but discreet stares at the young witch, and his time-to-time veela potion intakes were seen by a curious pair of pale cerulean eyes. Without wanting to eavesdrop on anything, the petite blonde witch had an interest in the sudden change in the attitude of the potions master. Luna watched silently, but cautiously, at her professor, with the mere intention of uncovering her own suspicions and assumptions of him. She was, in fact, bored. And when she got bored, her actions would become either unpredictable or completely random. She entertained herself much writing from time to time articles for the Quibbler, and she would spend her afternoons wandering around the castle, talking to ghosts and other magical creatures.

But one of the things she used to do most at school, was talking to Neville. In a way, he was her best friend, he had never even once judged her by her appearance or by how extravagant she was. And she was happy she could just tell him everything. She also knew Neville had a thing for her, which she mildly ignored. It's not that she didn't like him, but she just didn't particularly feel inclined to be romantically involved with the wizard. At least not at this time, that is.

Nevertheless, she wouldn't see him until January or maybe February, and she felt quite bored at times. But being with Ginny and Hermione made her entertained enough. An even more so, now that something was up with Hermione and Professor Snape, she was curious. And when she was curious, there was nothing she could do to stop it. _If I ever were a Muggle, I believe I would like being a detective._ She would sometimes muse to herself.

She found herself quite entertained, watching the potions master get all worked up at the sight of Hermione. _I'm confident he is a veela, and she is his mate. But he must probably be either half or quarter blooded. Otherwise, he wouldn't even doubt or think twice about seriously harming Draco. But the question that would always linger was, If he is a veela and she is his mate, then why does he recognise her as such until now? Considering the large age gap, he would already know she was his mate since the moment she turned seventeen… But she is nineteen, and it looks like he just discovered it…_ But Luna couldn't ignore the fact this was too entertaining. _Curious and curiouser…_ Luna chanted in her mind, remembering the line from the Muggle book, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. She read the book after several Muggle-borns commenting on how she was as mad as the book characters. And when she finally got to read it, it soon became one of her favourites.

She had spent her summer, along with her father at the house of her aunt, Aphrodisia Lovegood, the only unmarried relative she had, and the only living left, that is. Her father had owl her days ago, telling her their house was safe enough to live in it once more, and promising to never hang an erumpent in their living room again. Luna couldn't wait to return and re-paint her bedroom roof. But in the meantime, she was more interested in discovering the truth about the professor and the response Hermione will have to it.

Seeing his pointed stare at the witch in potion's class, and him discreetly taking a potion of sorts, she decided to approach him when everybody had left the classroom.

"Sir?" She said after class, not realising a pair of eyes accidentally eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Yes, Miss Lovegood?" He said dismissively, collecting students' essays to grade them later.

"I don't want to sound rude, nor do I want to meddle myself in others' businesses, but I highly doubt the way for courting a lady is by scowling with intense glares at her." She said, and he froze in his place before giving her the iciest, death glare he's ever given to anyone, and she just smiled.

"Miss Lovegood, may I ask, what exactly are you going on about before I take a hundred points from Ravenclaw? And you're right, it's not your business."

"Oh, it's nothing. But I guess Hermione might appreciate it more if your glances weren't... as fierce." And before he could even spell "detention", she had already skipped out from the classroom and met both brown and greyish-blue curious eyes. _What did she know? I don't believe Hermione has told her; it doesn't even look like the Weasley girl knows and she seems closer to her,_  Were Severus thoughts as the door from the classroom was closed shut.

"Lovegood," Draco said after he and Blaise unintentionally had mildly eavesdropped on her previous conversation with Professor Snape. He was dragged back by Blaise, who had become very interested in the odd witch, to meet her after class intending to ask her out to Hogsmeade or at least to get to know her better.

"Blaise, for the love of Merlin she's a _lunatic_! I doubt you'll find much interest in her after she rambles about her nargles and-" But was cut off when he heard Luna say something about Snape courting a lady. Was his godfather interested in _…anyone?_   _And why does Lovegood of all people knows this?_ Though Blaise didn't hear (he was busily re-telling him about Luna's brilliance), he could clearly hear the conversation between them.

Draco's blood went cold when he heard Hermione's name. _WHAT?_ Was the only thing he could think of when he heard it. _What did Granger have to do with any of this?_ As he was slowly dreading the answer he was starting to comprehend, the pale witch got out from the classroom, and he called her name.

"What can I do for you Draco?" She said sweetly. _I don't have time for pleasantries_ he though and asked,

"What is it about Granger and Snape?" But before she could answer he got a nudge in the ribs by Blaise and he said, "Luna. Such a nice time isn't it? Don't bother with this blonde chit over there. Fancy a walk with me?" Blaise said winking at a very amused Luna and giving a devious smile at Draco. _Chit? He called me a chit? Bloody Zabini I'll hex him next time I see him. Right now I don't think I'll be able to talk to Loony. I'll have to find answers by myself then._

"But I thought Draco wanted to-"

"It's fine Lovegood. Go on and _fancy a walk with Blaise_." He said making a face at Blaise, "I'll talk to you later." He said sighing, and she nodded, taking the arm of the now grinning, Blaise.

"Se ya mate." He said before walking off with Luna. After he had lost them, he started pacing towards the head students dorms, he hoped Granger was there. _What I think just cannot be!_

He was close enough when he saw Granger and the Weaselette chatting in the hallway. "Granger!" he called and met the witches in the hall.

"Draco," She was bewildered by his sudden outburst. "Wha-"

"We need to talk." He said quickly. "I'm sorry Draco, but I'm rather busy at the moment. We were on our way to help-" "No," She was cut off again by him and turned her head to him.

"I mean, we need to _talk_." He said, and as if she understood perfectly what he said, she slowly paled and nodded mechanically at him.

"Ginny… I…" She turned to the redhead, and she just nodded.

"I understand Hermione. You go on and talk, I'll catch up with you later." She said with a smile and strode off.

* * *

 When Draco and Hermione were sure there were no prying eyes nor ears nearby, he finally said after minutes of silence,

"Hermione I _know_." She just looked like she was about to cry.

"You… k-know?"

"Yes."

"I don't understand. What it is you exactly know?" She didn't know why she was playing dumb, she perfectly knew what he was talking about, but she feared the answer.

"Granger, don't be coy with me. You perfectly know what I'm talking about." He said getting closer to her.

"I…" Hermione hated feeling like this. Feeling _so weak_. Her eyes watered, and she looked down. _Talking about courage huh? My lack of courage right now might as well embarrass Godric Gryffindor deeply._ She gulped and looked at him in the eyes.

"You told me to give you time; I did. And I very well understand now the reason why you don't want to tell me who this veela is." Draco said.

"Draco I…" She didn't finish, and Draco continued

"Hermione, _you do know_ who this veela is don't you?" He said, and she nodded.

"Please, tell me who it is then."

"No." She said shaking her head, not looking at him in the eyes.

"You can't avoid this matter any longer, and you can't avoid my eyes as well! Look at me."

Silence.

"Please tell me who the veela is." He said taking her shoulder with one hand and the other moved her chin so he could look at her eyes.

"Please."

"No.." She said weakly.

"Hermione…" And she finally looked at him in the eyes.

"Is Severus Snape the veela whom you are its mate?" He said as fat, salty, and translucid tears were falling from her eyes.

"Yes, he is."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	9. It's a word, not a binding spell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll realise I quoted from the book the Goblet of fire, and of course it's only that bit, everything else is my imagination. Reserved rights to J.K. Rowling for that part btw. :)
> 
> Hope you're enjoying my story and please continue reading it !
> 
> PS: Thank you all for you comments! I'll try to upload faster :)

* * *

 

"Can't wait to beat Hufflepuff in the first game of the season. We are so winning the Cup this year!" Ginny said beaming at Harry, who was sitting beside her at Gryffindor's common room.

The only reason Harry was staying at Hogwarts was merely because his N.E.W.T.s, and having lost an entire year, it wasn't a surprise he wasn't Gryffindor's Quidditch team captain anymore. Or in the team whatsoever. Although he missed the rush of air and adrenaline he would get every game, he felt content with the fact Ginny was now the team captain.

 November was drawing nearer, and Quidditch training had begun as well as the new season of the year. Even though he wasn't on the team anymore, Harry helped Ginny with tryouts at the beginning of the year. He could see some of the younger players he had a chance to play within his Quidditch years, and helped Ginny with specific tactics and talents he thought of past players. And he, alongside some other "eight" graders, would fancy a Quidditch match when the pitch was alone every now and then. _How many occasions will I have the time to play when my Auror training starts?_ Harry sometimes wondered with worry, fearing he won't ever play again.

"But, of course, it won't be an easy road, now that our best Seeker is gone." Said Ginny taking Harry out of his thoughts kissing him on the nose.

"But you're an excellent Seeker! You've been doing just fine in training" Harry said softly kissing her on the lips.

"But I'm not and will never be as good as you ever were though. Besides, I believe Natalie McDonald is a better Seeker than I am. When she recovers from her arm we'll most probably change places. I'm a far better chaser than a seeker." She sighed.

"The fifth year?" Asked Harry and she nodded, continuing

"I doubt we'll have another seeker this year. Ritchie Coote will probably be team captain next year, and he'll have to worry about a new seeker then." She said falling backwards into Harry's lap.

After silent, comforting minutes passed, Harry could hear Ginny's soft chuckles coming from his lap. "What is it?" He quietly asked her, stroking her hair.

"It's just… I was remembering when I was younger, how I would daydream all day about you, imagining all type of situations in which you would pay attention to me. Mostly in my first and second year." She smiled with pink colour on her face. "I don't know if I ever told you Harry, but, the diary… I used to tell it how much I wished I could be with you. And how little the prospects of it going to happen were…"

"I knew." Harry blurted out, and Ginny looked at him with a blank red face.

"Not that I ever read anything you wrote. There wasn't a way for me to actually see what you had written in it; the words were gone forever." He quickly added, and he could see the relief on her face.

"But, Tom, he- told me," Harry said avoiding Voldemort's name. He never used the name "Voldemort" and the words -diary, feelings, and second year in the same sentence when talking to Ginny. He knew she tried to avoid the reality that she had been, in fact, confiding her deepest feelings with the darkest wizard of all times, for almost a year, in that diary. The thought still disturbed her and made her squirm to the day.

"It doesn't matter anymore. My dream came true." She said sitting up and kissed him with all her might on the lips. _Or maybe my dream came true_ thought Harry, remembering in his sixth year when his thoughts would wander from time to time and think about Ginny. He was yearning to taste her lips without triggering Ron's fury over him back then. Wondering how he could get the redhead's attention, and hope she would break up with her then-boyfriend, Dean.

"Ahem." They both separated at the sound and could see Ron, with a somewhat purplish face, clearing his throat and visibly trying not to snap.

"Did you lose something, Ron?" Ginny said, annoyed they were interrupted. He hesitated a bit before answering, "No, I am in my right to walk wherever I want. It's a free country." He said putting his hands behind his back and whistled as he paced around the room, avoiding them with his eyes. He was looking up at the ceiling as if it was the most exciting thing in the world.

"What do you want Ron?" said with gritted teeth, Ginny, who was now angry.

"Oy! Don't you go talking to me like that! You _stole_ my best friend!" Said Ron pointing the finger at her, now looking their way.

"I did not do such thing! Tell 'im, Harry." She said to the black haired wizard, who was trying very hard to hide and hope they didn't notice him.

"I-I-" Before Harry had a chance to speak, Ron berated "Yeah you did! Every time I want to talk to him I see you snogging his brains out! Not a nice view, mind you." He contorted his face and looked at the fuming redhead and the wizard who was blushing furiously.

"It's not our fault that since Hermione left you, you and your arse have an obscene amount of free time." Sore spot. Ginny had pushed the button in Ron that said "CAREFUL: MAY EXPLODE". She saw the different shades varying from red to purple in Ron's face, and she knew she had hit a sore spot. She didn't regret it.

"Harry and I have been acting the same as always. But ever since you're single, your favourite sport, besides Quidditch, is nag Harry and me whenever we're alone."

"Harry was my friend before he met _you_!"

"Ron, you of all people should understand that sometimes couples want to be _alone._ " She said with a softer tone and sighed, "Ron look- I know these past weeks have been hard for you, but you must speak with her. You're friends. You need each other. And it's not fair that you keep ignoring her. I know she's tried to speak to you, but you just pretend she's not even there! It's been over a month, and you haven't even looked at her way." Her words stabbed him like icy daggers.

"I don't believe you even bothered saying happy birthday to her did you?" He shook his head with a hard face and lowered his eyes. _Of course, telling Ron Hermione's feelings may have been with Malfoy ever since sixth grade won't help at all… Nor the fact there is another wizard after her, and it doesn't look he's going to give up anytime soon…_

She shook her head and continued,

"Anyway, even though you may not get back together ever again, you shouldn't be too hard on her. Just grow some pants and accept you weren't made for each other!" She said, and Ron knew the words already. The same words had slipped through Harry's lips. He narrowed his eyes at her, opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say more, but thought better of it, closed it, and he stepped out of the common room.

She turned and stared at Harry, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "And you," She narrowed her eyes at him, and she reminded Harry of how Mrs Weasley looked seconds before she almost hexed the twins for stealing the Ford Anglia. He gulped. " Some backup you gave me there, huh?" She scolded him.

"I-"

"For being the boy-who-lived, sometimes your bravery amazes me"

* * *

 If there were any non-veela being who would know every single piece of details about them, it would be Hermione. She had spent the last days engrossed in the library, researching everything the books would let her know about veelas. She kept returning from the library almost until midnight, ate very little, and fast. She made sure she could have enough time to do homework and research about veelas. Although Harry still didn't know about the veela or Professor Snape, he had commented about her fast eating habits over the past days.

"Are you back doing your S.P.E.W thing?" He had asked her when she was on the brink of leaving the table, one day at breakfast.

"No… Why?"

"Well, you're acting kinda like when you were doing your house-elf project. You're skipping meals, eat very fast, and I would bet my life you're spending the double of the time in the library than any other normal day." He asked out of curiosity more than suspicion.

"I'm not back to that project." She said with disappointment, remembering her almost fiasco she had with the elf society she made. But remained her posture and said "But I'm studying for our N.E.W.T.s. If I want a position in the Ministry, I simply cannot expect less than "Outstanding" in them. I assure you, even though Kingsley has your position as an Auror guaranteed, you should start studying too. And if you ever want to work outside of the UK in the future, good marks in your N.E.W.T.s will surely do well in your curriculum." Hermione knew she wasn't an excellent liar, but it was half a lie. While she had indeed started studying for the N.E.W.T.s, she wasn't frequenting the library these days for that purpose. But she wasn't ready yet to break the news to Harry.

He looked at her as if another head had suddenly grown in her neck while she looked at the watch her father gave to her as a present when she was the only student in her entire generation to get 10 O.W.L.s. _"If there's anyone who has enough time to spend with her friends and get high marks on their exams at the same time, it is you."_ He'd told her and gave her the watch. It was transparent, with dark blue straps, and it had dark blue roman numbers. Gods, she missed her parents.

"Hermione -you do realise our exams are more than 6 months away? Live a little! There's no Voldemort here to threaten us anymore. You should relax a bit more."

"Harry I know. I'm relaxing, I really am! But- I was just finishing a Transfiguration book and Mdme. Pince doesn't allow it to be taken out of the library. And you know how much I hate leaving a half-finished book." She hoped Harry would fall for her lie, and after a suspicious look he gave her, he finally let her go. _I'm sorry Harry, I know you're my best friend, but I need a little more research before I break anything to you._ She wanted to tell Harry before Ginny, but situations made it the other way around at the end. Although, Ginny still didn't know who the veela is.

Going through the books in the library, she sat in the furthest and most solitary place of the Legal Section of the library. Being the most unpopular area of the lot, she didn't want to be surprised by anyone and having to answers questions like _"Why are you reading "Coping with your Veela", "Unusual ways Veelas sometimes think", "Veela powers and everything you must know about them"?"_ Or things like _"Are you secretly a veela?"_. No, Hermione didn't feel like raising any question about her reading habits.

She also felt sorry she wasn't spending as much time with Draco these past days as she used to. She wasn't only just busy with her new schedule (which consisted of waking up, library, eat, classes, library, classes, library, eat, library, library, sleep. repeat). She was also feeling slightly guilty about how would Professor Snape react to all of this. Ever since she told Draco, she noticed how he would sit furthest away from Professor Snape in the classes (and made sure she did as well). And although Draco understood if they made any contact at all while on his watch was a bad move, he would send death glances at him when Draco thought he wasn't looking. He also kept asking her about him. _"Did he speak to you?" "He didn't cause you any trouble did he?" "How are you handling things?"_

She knew he was trying to help in some way ( she knew he was _beyond_ jealous), but he couldn't accept with a warm hug the fact his godfather wasn't only a veela, but his mate was none other than the girl he fancies. It bothered him the most when she had politely asked him if they could stay "just friends" for a little longer, not because she didn't want to be with him or she didn't want the title (they acted pretty much like a couple). But she would feel terrible not only for Professor Snape but for Ron too. Their break up had been barely over a month, and he would just accuse her of hypocrisy if she started dating Draco right away (despite the fact she already felt like one). She sighed. _All of this is so messed up right now. I don't even know what to do!_  She froze. She, Hermione Granger didn't have a plan. None at all. _What if I give..? No, Hermione THINK!_ The thought had been taunting her ever since she found out who the veela was.

She had considered the possibilities of ever saying yes to give it a go with Professor Snape, and when the thought had merely touched her mind, she discarded it with furious speed and blushing cheeks. She didn't only felt already too attached to Draco, but it was…Snape. _He doesn't even like me as a person! His human side must feel just as repulsed by me right now as when even before he knew I was his mate. It's just magic and chemicals! Nothing more._ She thought about it somehow like Amortentia. But in a more cruel and ungodly way.

Hermione left the library a little after dinner, already exhausted from being sitting reading all day about veelas. Her head was about to explode, and all she wanted to do was get some rest. Several days lacking sleep were getting to her, and she accidentally stumbled into someone on her way out almost knocking her over. "S-Sorry!" She said and made a mental note about stopping bumping with other people.

She looked up and saw a mass of red hair and blue surprised eyes, looking at her. Ron.

"Ron." She said composing herself. "How are you doing?" She politely said. She realised this was the first word, they had exchanged since their breakup. He looked at her, and then sideways, deciding whether keep walking as if nothing had happened and ignore her or stay and finally acknowledge her. He finally settled on the latter.

"Hermione." He said with a quiet, rigid voice, avoiding her gaze at all costs, ignoring her question. _Well, at least it's an improvement_  Hermione thought.

"How've things been going? Have you had any matches of Quidditch with Harry and the boys?"

"I s'pose so."

"Have you received any letters from your family? And what about the joke shop?" She said trying very hard to keep the conversation going.

"Not much. And the joke shop's been the same as you last saw it." He said sourly. _So much for keeping up the conversation_ She sighed.

"Ron… look. I know this is hard for both of us, but we can't keep ignoring each other. You're one of my best friends. I need you. Can't we try to overcome all of what happened and return to how we were before?"

"Oh yeah? If you're so lonely as you say you are, you're not showing it. I've seen you how cosy you look around Malfoy. And don't lie to me. Even though Harry swears he hasn't seen a thing, I know he has. And so do I. So don't go saying things with false remorse, when I know your relationship with the bouncing ferret is anything but platonic." Hermione felt her ears and cheeks go pink. _Even though he has a point, I can't lose my relationship with Ron._

"He's still my friend, Ron. And so are you! Please don't go rubbing in my face how my relationship with Draco is when he has been my friend from a long time ago! He was there for me in sixth year, when your relationship with Lavender left me emotionally to pieces. Yes, I trust and rely on him a lot, but don't go saying I had false remorse when there was nothing false in my relationship with you! I broke up with you before it could turn that way. You know I love you. As a brother. And I would appreciate it very much if you would accept it as it is."

"Hermione… I'm sorry that you don't love me. I know you have all your feelings resolved; I still have some problems figuring out my own, but also, you hurt me. And I'm not sure I'm ready to forgive, even less to accept the fact we may never be together again." Hermione tried to look at Ron in the face but saw a flash of dark eyes luring over them. She could see Professor Snape,  who from a safe distance, was watching her with a glare that might break glass from the intensity of it. She guessed he was trying to hear their conversation, and knew, she had to stop ignoring him as well.

"You're wrong, I don't have my feelings resolved as you might think. I know I've wronged, but I wasn't the only person in the relationship, the fault is not all mine you know. I also know I've hurt you and I don't want to lose you, Ron. But anyway, thank you, Ron. I understand. And I think that with a little time, things will go back to normal." She smiled. But could not shake those black eyes still watching her.

"Y-yeah. I'm just not quite ready yet. But I don't like your relationship with Malfoy still. Makes me think about how you acted around him when we were still dating-"

"-Ron," Hermione cut him off. "I know, there's so much we have to catch up with and believe me when I tell you I had eyes for no one else than you. But I must go." She said not bearing anymore the black eyes, and she practically jogged from where a blank-faced Ron stood and made her way towards a far hallway.

"Hermione! We were talking! Come back!" Ron's yellings muffled by the time she reached the deserted hallway.

Just as if Severus knew, he followed her into the hallway where she knew they wouldn't be heard.

"I don't know if you think eavesdropping in a conversation is okay, or if it is a habit of yours, knowing you were a spy, but I can't stand-" " _Shhh!_ " He silenced her. "Into the classroom. Your tendency to raise your voice is very noticeable by others." He directed her into the nearest empty classroom, and she complied, entering the room.

After putting up wards and silencing spells, they finally talked.

"So, Miss Granger has finally spoken from her long, silent coma." He said bitterly, stepping away from her.

"I was _not_  in a silent comma! I was just thinking things over. I told you I needed time." She said without caring she didn't use the word  _sir_. She wasn't expecting to have and speak with him so soon. She still wasn't finished reasoning what will happen with anything about the situation!

"Oh? And what are your conclusions regarding… _our situation?_ " He said with a sneer, and she felt a shiver go down her spine when the last words left his lips. A dead silence fell upon them until she spoke before he grew more impatient and attacked her again with another cynic response,

"I'm still thinking things over." She repeated, and before he could reply she added, "But, I believe I will have an appropriate answer by Halloween. It's merely a week away, and I believe it would give me enough time to sort out… _our situation_." She said, lingering on the last words with difficulty. He seemed to be deep in thought and stared at her for a full minute, without saying anything. After a pregnant pause, he said in his quiet, velvety, nasal voice, "Very well. I shall see we meet before the Halloween feast without fail." He said in a low pitch, and she took this as her cue to leave. Halfway through the door she heard him,

"And Granger, when talking about the relationship you have with Malfoy, you can't fool anybody with the fact it is anything but platonic. Not even Weasley believed your lie." He said, and her blood turned to ice. She decided not to give him the pleasure of looking back and knowing his eyes were probably onyx by now, she continued her way out of the classroom.

* * *

 

"Granger, the number of books you've brought in the common room has already given me a headache. And I consider myself a literate person!" Draco said after walking into the room. He could see Hermione curled up in the couch, absorbed by a book, next to Crookshanks, and a pile of books that went from the floor up to her shoulder. She jumped to the surprise of his arrival and gave him a small smile before turning her head back to the book. He sighed and went up to her.

"I'm just doing a little bit of research, that's all." She said when he proceeded and sat on the loveseat next to the couch.

"And I just want to spend time with the girl I fancy. Is it too much to ask?  What are you reading now anyway?" He said grabbing the book from her hand before she could protest (he knew it annoyed her) and read _"Poisons and antidotes you should know before dealing with Beasts"._ He felt gloomy every time he remembered the nature of his godfather and the fact it involved Hermione. _Why couldn't his mate be I don't know… someone his age!?_ He knew she was very stressed by all of it too, but he felt slightly rejected when she asked him to stay friends longer.

"Granger, stop mortifying yourself and stop reading this! This is all rubbish!"

"No, it's not! And I'm not mortifying myself, the more I read, the more relaxed I become."

"You won't be relaxed anymore when you know the information you're trying to reach. You're distracting yourself, and I don't like seeing you being this… _exhausted_." He said taking her hand in his and looked at her. She was wearing Muggle clothes, and even though her hair didn't look as bushy and dishevelled as other times, he could see she had done a bun, probably in the morning, but half of her hair was now falling to her sides. She reminded him of how she was dressed in the Yule Ball in their fourth year.

"Your hair reminds me of your hairstyle in the Yule Ball." He whispered, and she blushed.

"You -you remember _that_? It's been almost four years! I didn't know you would remember the knot I was wearing that night."

"Of course I do. I even remember the periwinkle-blue dress you wore, and how you were easily the prettiest girl in the whole room. I still think you're the prettiest girl, muggle clothes and everything." She was now blushing not only from her face but also her ears and he continued, "Besides, how could I forget the night we began our…friendship? That time we may have only formed a truce, but it was the beginning of well…this." He said as he raised their hands showing their intertwined fingers.

"Even though I must say, I didn't know how to feel for quite some time, for I thought you had only taken pity on me just because I was wearing costume and filigree." She said narrowing her eyes but didn't stop smiling.

"How could you say that?" He said feigning an offended tone. " _Hermione_ ," he said using her first name, "you don't know how much I regret all those things I said to you. I even remember perfectly in my head the time I called you a long molared _mudblood_." He said the word with difficulty and Hermione knew then how much he had changed ever since.

"It's okay Draco. You know I've forgiven you for all of that." She smiled at him, and he looked up into her eyes.

**_December 1994_ **

It was beginnings of December and Draco couldn't be more bored. His jokes about 'POTTER STINKS' were dying out, and he was to stay during Christmas for the Yule Ball. It's not like he wasn't excited about the ball, well, more or less. But the fact that he had to stay all holidays for just one day wasn't on his desires list.

It seemed everybody was with the frenzy of finding a partner for the ball. He, of course, wasn't worried in the least. He had already been asked to the ball by at least a dozen of girls, but he knew he was going with Pansy. She had told him three days before she already had a date, some pureblood Ravenclaw from fifth year, but he also knew, she would dump him the second he asked her. But he didn't want to seem desperate or anything, so he decided to wait two weeks before the ball to ask her.

In the meantime, his only hopes before school ended were to reject still further invitations skinny girls from third and second year to the ball and make fun of Potter. He almost said yes to a sixth-year girl from Ravenclaw, she was pretty enough and was half-blood. But he wasn't going with any girl that decided to invite him. It had to be he the one to ask a girl. As proper pure-blood traditions stated, the wizard was always the one to woo a witch.

He was walking down the hall with his newfound friend, Blaise, who hadn't had a chance to speak until recently. He didn't know why until now, but Draco found a friend who had the brains like him to talk finally _talk_. A thousand times better than the scum Crabbe and Goyle always made of themselves. Not that he would stop talking to them, of course.

"So I was telling you, a girl, a _Hufflepuff_ from third year was brave enough to ask _me_ to the ball." Blaise only sniggered, and he continued, "But not only that, she was a mudblood. Of course, I told her I couldn't even think of being seen talking to her, so she ran away crying." He finished as he and Blaise laughed. They were passing behind Potter when he overheard Weasley say,

"Hermione - who you are going to the ball with?" he almost stopped his tracks. Hermione Granger, a Mudblood, with a partner for the Ball? He almost burst out laughing but remained his posture, wanting to keep listening who was the poor soul that had to go with Granger.

"I'm not telling you, you'll just make fun of me." So she _did_ have a dance partner. Unbelievable!

"You're joking Weasley!" He said behind them "You're not telling me someone's asked _that_ to the ball? Not the long molared Mudblood?" He said now laughing with Blaise at his side. But stopped his tracks when she said, "Hello, Professor Moody!" He went pale and could only help but look behind and find… no one. His face was flushed with anger, and he turned when she told him "Twitchy little ferret, aren't you, Malfoy?" She said flashing her, now normal sized, teeth to him as she left with Weasley and Potter, laughing.

"C'mon Draco, we'll wait for the ball to see who is this partner she says she has. I bet the trio had to ask third grades because no one wants to go with them." He said nudging him to move. _Had Granger the same size of teeth before I hexed her? And she didn't even seem to hesitate to come back at me even though I called her a Mudblood._ Draco couldn't help but think the newfound confidence she had was a consequence of the slap she gave him last year. And he did not like that at all.

Christmas came, and it was already the day of the Yule Ball, with everybody  waiting outside the Great Hall, for the clock to announce it was finally 8 o'clock. He had Pansy by his side, who ditched his former partner the second Draco asked her. She was wearing  pale pink robes that made her hair look even darker, her eyes greener, and her skin paler. He looked at her, and she blushed for a second, before putting her attention to other girls. _What I like about Pansy, is how quickly I can reach to her. Maybe I don't see her as someone I would want to spend my life with (she talks too much about clothes for my liking), but she is a great friend, pretty, pureblooded, and loyal. And is also someone with whom I can keep myself entertained for a while._ He, on the other side, was wearing from head to toe black, elegant, velvet robes which were a gift from his father.

At the time when everybody had to welcome the champions for their big entrance, Draco had already forgotten all about Granger and her unfortunate dance partner. That is until he saw her.

He was glad Pansy was also gaping at her, when in fact he couldn't take his eyes off the witch grasping Viktor Krum's arm. Her hair was not the bush and knots it always was, but it was shiny, and her curls were all in place in an elegant knot. Her dress, made with floaty periwinkle-blue material, was floating elegantly every way she walked. Draco thought it was very well made, for it was just her size. But the thing Draco couldn't believe wasn't the fact Granger had somehow managed to bewitch Krum into asking her (it astonished not only him, but everyone else), but the fact she looked - pretty. No, scratch that, she looked _beautiful_. Hermione Granger looked as if she was the only decent-looking girl in a room full of trolls. She even looked prettier than Fleur (it was debatable). As she passed in front of them, all words of hate, disapproval and insults never left his mouth. Because there were none to say. For the first time in his life, Draco Malfoy was left speechless.

The ball went on, there was dinner, and then almost everyone stood and began to dance. Pansy, of course, was thrilled with all the jealous looks some girls were giving her because she was with Draco Malfoy, but the looks they gave her were minimal compared to those given to Fleur and Hermione. Draco found himself being part of the crowd giving looks at them. Not to Fleur, but to Hermione.

Dancing with Pansy, he would sometimes catch a glance at the brunette with the blue dress, and he could even swear her laughter could be heard miles away. He hated the feeling it caused him, not being able to tear his eyes from her and the queasy feeling he had in his stomach. _I'm getting paranoid_ Every time he would steal a glance her way; he made it so that Pansy wouldn't notice, and of course, neither did Hermione.

At midnight, although many were still dancing, many others had already left to their dorms to get some sleep. Like a reliable dance partner, he escorted Pansy to the Slytherin common room, but he didn't enter it.

"You go on; I still have something to sort out with Blaise." He lied to Pansy, and she didn't reply as she entered the common room, giving him a goodnight chaste kiss on the lips. In fact, he didn't know why exactly he was returning to the Great Hall. Almost everyone he knew had already left, and he wasn't up to dance anymore. His thoughts wandered to the minor possibility the brunette bookworm was still there without Krum but stopped abruptly to the soft sounds of someone crying. He didn't even have the time to slap himself mentally for his thoughts when his feet started dragging him towards the quiet sobs.

He stopped abruptly when he recognised the witch with the periwinkle blue dress sitting on a stone bench, stuck to the wall, crying. He had stared at the witch for full two minutes before he cleared his throat, and she stopped and looked up at him. Her face was slightly pink from all the crying, and she had bloodshot eyes. But the moment she realised _who_ was looking at her, she wiped her tears, sniffed and frowned at him.

"Didn't get any luck with Krum tonight?" He said before he could stop himself. _Marvelous going there, Draco_ he mentally cursed himself. Her lip quivered, but she gave him an angry look.

"What do _you_ know Malfoy?" She said and then as if realising something she continued, "Why are you here anyway? Come to taunt a crying Mudblood? Well, I'm not giving you that pleasure!" She said standing up and tried to pass him, but he grabbed her wrist before she could get away.

"Why are you crying?" He said with a softness he didn't know he had.

"It's none of your business! And let go of me! Or do you want another slap?" She said trying to break free from his steel grip. Draco seemed to have left out his body for somebody else to manage because the next thing he did was walk further into the hallway away from the noise dragging her along with him.

"I'm not here to attack you or anything of the sort. I just happened to see you, and well, one of my least favourite things in the world is to see a girl crying. Also,  I was curious because, you seemed very happy at the ball, and that was less than an hour ago when I last saw you! And now -" He looked at her, and she stopped trying to break free and saw him. " -now you look, well as if someone had told you your parents died."

He looked at her, and she sighed and sat again, on a nearby stone bench. He followed and sat at her side. She didn't complain but sat a few moments in silence, mentally trying to decide if she should tell him about her tears.

"I don't trust you and I still think you're an idiot, also I don't owe you any explanation." She sighed, "But if you're dying to know, it wasn't Viktor the reason I was crying tonight." She finally said, and he looked up to her. "I… had an argument with Ron just before you came in and found me. Not only was I accused of treason, but I was yelled at, and humiliated." She told him and seeing his confused face, she explained. "Ron ruined my night with his temper. I know it's no big deal but, I appreciate his friendship a lot, and I wouldn't even think to do the same if he went with a Beauxbatons girl to the ball. I believe the hatred towards the other competitors it's not mutual."

"Hermione…" He said, using for the first time in his life, her first name, "Weasley is a git. And I believe he was only jealous of Krum, because believe it or not, you were easily the prettiest girl in the room." He said before he could even process the words slipping through his lips, and saw her face was the same colour as Pansy's dress. They stared at each other, neither knowing what to say next.

She broke the silence first, seeing his face was blank.

"I… thank you, Draco." She said carefully, also using his first name for the first time, still blushing furiously. He recovered at the sound of his name.

"Granger I know we have had our _misunderstandings_ in the past, and I also know we may not like each other. At all. And it also doesn't take away the fact my views towards _Muggle-borns_ are totally changed… but I think I can make an exception with you." He said warily, swallowing all of his pure-blood pride he had. She seemed to have understood what he meant for she said. "Yeah, I know I'm still a stubborn know-it-all, and you're still a blond prat. But I think we can at least be civil towards each other." She smiled a bit.

They were silent for a few moments, each looking into the other's eyes. Brown and Blue. Looking past all the prejudices society had planted each other since they were born. But for the first time, looking at each other for whom they really were. Each with hundreds of questions in their heads, but with one predominantly in both's heads.

_What in Merlin's beard just happened?_

**_October 1998_ **

Halloween came, and Hermione was nervous all day long, nervous about her conversation later with the potion's master. It was Saturday, and the day before in their Potions class, without even Ginny noticing it, he'd slipped a note to her hand that said:

**Meet me in my Potions office at 6 o'clock sharp. Make sure you're alone. **

She'd burned the note immediately, and as 6 o'clock began getting nearer, she began to freak out about the meeting she had. She had told no one of her reunion, not even Draco. Although they did spend their day together (they went off to Hogsmeade in the morning) in the afternoon, to her great luck, Blaise had come and told them he wanted to speak to him. After Draco had told him to sod off, Hermione told them she had some studying to do before the feast, so she didn't have any problem. And now she was there, pacing in an empty hallway close to the dungeons, waiting for the moment she had to go in there and confront Professor Snape.

Looking at her watch, the seconds clicking, she decided it was time to go before she was late in Professor Snape's office.She knocked at the door, and he soon emerged from the door, looking down at her, and without a word he let her step inside of his office.

His office was dark, cold, and full of potions as she last remembered it. Nothing had changed much, besides for the fact, some of his personal stuff had been removed. Being he was now, half- the headmaster, he had two offices already, and by that, two bedrooms. So he'd moved some of his stuff to the other one.

"I thought the intention of this meeting was to discuss a matter of importance, not for you to stare at my office." He said from behind her, and she jumped blushing in the way.

"I-I'm sorry, I was just-" "Care for some tea, Miss Granger?" He cut her off, not minding her answer and led her to an adjacent room, with a small table with a set of fine-looking china. "Y-yes, thank you." She stuttered.

After sitting down in his dark wooded, velvety chair and drinking some black tea, she decided it was time to speak up.

"I think I have an answer for how to manage this… situation we have." "About time." She heard him whisper under his breath but let her continue,

"Well, I've reached a conclusion, and me letting you die is not something very human at all." "How considerate of you Miss Granger. It's so very, _altruistic._ " He spat with sarcasm and sneered at her, "but let me say, I won't stand the pity of anyone. So I suggest, if that is your decision, you may very well get out from here and forget all of this."

"I-I never said I pity you! Yes, it is rather sad your misfortune, but I never said any of my acts, or future ones are or will be out of pity. My point here, is, that I would willingly  get to know you." She said, and he looked at her, trying to decipher a puzzle. "Please do be more specific." She took a deep breath and exhaled before saying,

"What I mean, is, I don't want to care about the veela thing, I want to know who is Severus Snape. Because let's face it, yes you were my teacher for six years, and you fought on our side. But, that doesn't mean I know you. At all. I don't know your pet peeves, what you like, what makes you happy, nothing. Not even your past, for that matter. And I want to know you. I'm not saying that by knowing you I'll say yes or no right away, but before I can make a proper decision, a life decision for that matter, I can't make it blindly. I don't know what type of person you are. I don't care if there's anything chemical or magical that attaches us both, but I want to know who you are, on the inside. I don't know if that's specific enough for you." She said, realising she had scooted closer to him, and her voice had slightly raised from when she first got to his office.

They sat there, in silence and Hermione saw how different his eyes were from Draco's. His, instead of being a crystal blue, were quite the opposite, being onyx black. His were eyes that wanted to express so much emotion but held back as if they were afraid to lose something. She snapped out of her trance as he spoke.

"What I understand here is, you're saying yes to meet, to get to know each other. But you're not saying anything yet about… the future, correct?" She nodded.

"I suggest, you should go back before the feast starts. You don't want any of your _friends_ missing you." He said explicitly adding vile to the word friends. Hermione swallowed hard, trying not to think about her future. In any form.

* * *

 November came with a chilly breeze enough to give you a horrible cold, but not enough to freeze the entire castle. Though it wasn't yet snowing, students knew it might at any moment now.

Try as she might, Hermione just couldn't speak at all or think about the meeting she had with Snape on Halloween. She knew she had gotten herself into trouble, as Draco was also involved in all of this. It was on November the fifth when she finally decided to tell him about her meeting with Snape.

"You did WHAT?" He had tried to stay calm, but this news wasn't pleasant in the least.

"Hermione, I know you wanted to stay friends a little longer in the hope we'll be something more in the future. But you saying this, only  means we'll stay friends forever. Period." He whispered to her one day after classes.

"Draco, don't say it like that. That's not true." She said stopping her tracks.

"You practically said yes to him!"

"No, I said yes into agreeing to know him better, nothing more."

"It's the same thing!" "No, it's not! And I just gave my word to know him more, it's not a binding spell. You're making a big hassle over nothing." She tried to calm him down. "

It's just that Granger-" he decided to stop mid-track on his words and kissed her full on the lips, feeling the softness of hers with his. She returned the kiss with the same emotion and fleeting moments passed before they finally broke away.

"There, you just matter too much for me Hermione. I just can't lose you. When we were in sixth grade, and all of this began, I never would have thought my feelings for you would be this deep. I care too much to just give up my hopes and stop fighting."

"Draco…" She said, and he took her cheek in his hand.

"Please just, don't go and leave me okay? I think my emotions are deep enough for me to sacrifice my life for you. Whatever your decision may be I... just don't leave me, yes?" He said before kissing her again and then left to his class.

_I hope the same thing as you do, Draco_ she thought worriedly.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you've liked it <3


	10. First meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Hope you're enjoying the story so far.  
> Please leave kudos and comment if you liked it!

* * *

Hermione sure loved Transfiguration. It was her second favourite class after Arithmancy. Of course, Charms was also there, and she liked the subject of Charms _more_ than Transfiguration, but she enjoyed McGonagall's class better. But nevertheless, Transfiguration wasn't a piece of cake. Yes, she was the best of her class, but McGonagall made sure no one forgets that even though the war was over, school wasn't. While the classroom, Professor McGonagall seemed a tad more relaxed and less strict, but nevertheless, the homework she gave was worse than in past years.

"Voldemort was defeated 6 months ago, and you need to present you N.E.W.T.s in almost the same amount of time." She would say to the class as if it were a backup excuse for the quantity of homework she was giving.

But the one thing Hermione wasn't sure about Transfiguration was the Animagui form. It would have thrilled her the fact that she could become an animal whenever she wanted but -if her Patronus was an otter, she couldn't imagine an otter usually walking on the streets of Diagon Alley. Not happening. _Although being an Animagus won't be a complete waste of time if my Animagi form is not an otter._ _Maybe after finishing school, I'll think about it._ She thought while McGonagall entered the class in her cat form.

"Today we'll be practising our human transfiguration incantation. I know some of you have mastered it quite well," she said looking with a knowing smile towards Hermione ", but it is required for your final examinations. So we must practise. And I hope everyone here has gotten a good night sleep." They got in pairs, Hermione stayed with Harry, and they had to transfigure their partner 7 times, into different animals and persons.

"This type of magic may leave you magically exhausted and drained for days, I know, but I made sure to tell your teachers not to pressure you too much for the rest of the week. I don't want any student in the hospital wing not being able to even transfigure a match into a needle at the cause of drain of magic."

"Not making us dance anymore now, is she?" Harry teased her with a smile playing on his lips and Hermione rolled her eyes at him. Ever since the little "scene" Draco and Ron did back in September, McGonagall told them if they wanted to practise their dancing skills, they could do it in their free time. She'd practically told them to piss off.

Harry tried to transfigure Hermione to a different person (it was harder than into an animal) 4 times, but he just couldn't. He had spent the night before goofing around with Ron, trying to see who charmed the entire Gryffindor common room with more colours (something they did until three in the morning). And it didn't help him much today. So after 3 successful human transfigurations and 3 animal ones, Harry felt the magic leaving him, and he had to take a seat, almost falling off the chair.

"Harry, how irresponsible can you be? You're eighteen! Besides, Professor McGonagall warned us, last class, not to do anything too magically exhausting before this lesson! You idiot!" Hermione said disapprovingly, thinking which form she would use first.

"Potter, just what did you do yesterday? Mr Weasley is the same as you -if not worse!" McGonagall said approaching them, and they looked over to Ron, who decided he didn't care at all and fell asleep on the desk. It left an exasperated Luna no choice, but to Transfigure him, while he was asleep. "Pray you won't have to use magic in your next class if not, I'm afraid you'll be spending the night at the hospital wing."

After the class was almost finished, she told the students to wait a little more because she had an announcement to make. She decided to dismiss Harry and Ron from all of their classes before Harry passed out on the floor, while Ron was already asleep on his desk, and sent them to rest for what was left of the day. It left Hermione and Luna to be paired up until the end of the lesson.

"Before you go, I wanted to remind you of the ball we'll have the nineteenth of December to celebrate not only the end of the war but the holidays too. I hope everyone enjoys it, and I also hope everyone has a partner. The only difference from the Yule Ball is that this time, students from all years will be able to attend. The ball will finish at midnight for the first, second and third graders. And for the rest, it will finish… until 2 past thirty in the morning." She said the last part with a hard face, and some students cheered while some girls giggled. "Nevertheless, even though this time the only students attending will be from Hogwarts, we still hope your behaviour remains respectfully and decorously throughout the ball."

"I suppose you're going with Draco, aren't you?" Luna said innocently when everybody was grabbing their things before leaving the class.

"I don't know… I guess so." Hermione said blushing a little with a small smile.

"Unless your tastes lie with someone older…" She said looking up at her with her big, baby blue eyes. Hermione went red and looked at her with shaken eyes.

"W-why would you say that?" She said accidentally dropping her stuff on the floor. She bent over the ground to pick them up, Luna helping her.

"Luna, _what_ exactly do you know?" She whispered at her, yearning to know the witch's answer.

"Hermione, first, you must know that my intentions are never to hurt, but quite the opposite. All the knowledge I possess is to be kept to myself until I see the opportunity to help. You're one of my best friends and the least I would do is hurt you." She said with a smile, and Hermione felt relief Luna wasn't going to spill it over the entire school. But still looked at her anxiously, waiting to hear how she found out.

"No one told me anything if that is what you want to know. I realised it by myself." Her smile grew wider as well as Hermione's eyes.

"How?" She said after they stood up and walked together out of the classroom.

"I like to perceive the things no one cares about. The little details that remain hidden under the neglect of others." She said tucking a long, platinum blonde lock of hair behind her ear making her greenish gold, leaf-shaped, earring to dance.

"Ever since you mentioned your secret admirer with Ginny, I had doubts about him. It was your birthday poem that gave him away. You see, back in my fifth year, I found one of the secret hiding places of Peeves. Much like a magpie, Peeves has a little nest with his "trophies" he's collected from over the years. Petty things like caps, earrings, socks, ties, glasses and even some lipstick. But the thing catching my attention was a piece of old parchment. It was a small poem, written in the year 1983 I think. But at the bottom of the wrinkled paper, it had the initials S.S... It could've been anyone, but after reading your birthday card, the style of writing was the same. And since Professor Snape began teaching in the year 1981, I guessed there really couldn't be anyone else. And well, it was a matter of time, I started paying closer attention to both of you. And judging by his sudden absence for days and his behaviour towards you, I also guessed he was a veela, you being his mate. You may not know but, I also know quite a bit about them."

Hermione had plates instead of eyes, blooming roses instead of cheeks, and her mouth was dry from being open too much time, gaping at Luna. "I..I…" She said but couldn't formulate more. Luna chuckled. "What I also found out, is that he probably is either half or one-quarter veela. If he had more veela blood in his system, Draco and Ron would've been probably dead by now, or with a permanent injury." Luna meant to go on, but the terrified look on Hermione's face told her otherwise.

"Sorry if any of what I said caused you considerable discomfort." She said with a small frown.

"No, it's fine," Hermione said swallowing hard and licking her dry lips. "I already had my suspicions as well about him not being a full-blooded veela. But I know even though he has less blood, he has to take a potion of some sort to fully suppress his veela magic." She finished, walking at the side of the petite witch along the corridors.

"Luna," Hermione said after some time, stopping her tracks and looking dead in the eye at the blond witch.

"Please don't give this information to anybody else." She said grabbing her shoulders. "And Draco already knows." She added. "I suspected as much. And like I told you, all the information I have won't be used to potentially hurt anyone, even less one of my friends."

"Thank you, Luna. By the way, do you know who are you going to the dance?" She said trying to change the topic.

"I still have no partner, but I have a strong feeling Blaise Zabini will ask me. He has hinted it a few times over the past weeks."

"Zabini?" Hermione asked with surprise, "I thought you had something going on with Neville. He sure does fancy you. Thought you might invite him to the dance."

"Oh yes, he is most certain to attend. Neville is one of my dearest friends, but I haven't found myself with a proper reason to fancy him. And these past weeks getting to know Blaise have been great and refreshing. So I can say I have no real attachments to anyone at the moment."

"Oh, I see…"

"Granger!" Both witches turned and saw Draco Malfoy jogging towards them.

"I think I will leave now," Luna said smiling and skipped away before Hermione said anything.

"Granger," Draco slightly panted stopping next to Hermione "may I walk you to your next class?" He said surprisingly politely.

"Don't you have any classes to attend?" She said arching an eyebrow at him.

"Well, I only had 7 O.W.L.s worth passing into N.E.W.T.s as you very well know that," Truth was, Draco had only applied to do 7 O.W.L.s. Many classes bored him (much like Care of Magical Creatures or Divination), thus he only enrolled to those he found worth studying. Excelling in every one of them, of course.

"therefore giving I only have 7 courses, that leaves me with an extra space of free time… which is right now. So if you please." He said grabbing her books and starting to walk. "Oh yes," He said turning to her, stopping his tracks "Which class do you have next?" "

Ancient Runes." She smiled at him.

* * *

Draco could say he was a tad (a lot) nervous about the possibility of Hermione leaving him for the veela. He also very well knew, she wasn't the type to just let die someone else if it could be avoided. _Why must veelas fucking die of a heartbreak?_ But he was just a tad nervous, he would reassure himself, so he made sure to spend and care for every single moment he had with Hermione.

He paid more attention to her, was more affectionate to her, and also followed the etiquette books his mother had given to him. They specified how to treat your witch appropriately and how to be a real gentleman with her. In the past, he only read the first chapters of them - _How to properly court a witch_ , and never bothered to look past that part.

But nevertheless, he was anxious enough to actually ask for reassurance from Hermione to go together to the ball.

"Granger, even though we haven't actually spoken about it, we _are_ going together to the dance aren't we?" He said the next day, in the almost-empty library.

"Some insecurity I noted in your voice, Malfoy?" She said teasingly, looking up from her book.

"Pfft, how could you even say that? No, I'm just making sure you don't suddenly go running off to someone else's arms."

"And why on Earth would I do that?" She said arching her eyebrow at him, closing her book.

"I don't know… maybe because your judgement towards _certain_ wizards has changed over the past weeks?" He asked trying to sound innocent, looking at the nearest bookshelf with a newfound interest.

"What exactly are you pointing at Draco Malfoy?" She snapped, and he looked at her with uncertainty in his eyes.

"I surely do hope it's not what I believe it is because if that is the case, you can go by yourself to the dance!" She hissed so that nobody else could hear them. She had a reddish colour on her cheeks, and Draco could almost swear he saw steam come out of her ears.

"I'm sorry." He said after she decided to resume her reading as if nothing had happened. She looked up at him but didn't close her book.

"I know that even if in a parallel universe you decided you indeed wanted to go with _him_ it would be impossible." This time, she decided to take a full look at him, and she closed her book again."I know I have been jumpy with the topic of… _my godfather_." He said and with the last word he had never felt more nauseated in his entire life.

"But Granger, you must understand I have never felt this way before. This… romantic feelings I have developed towards you are quite new, and I honestly don't know what will happen if I ever lose you." And then he lowered his voice "I never thought I would say this out loud but… I think I'm _scared_." Hermione could see a faint rosy colour painting his pale cheeks. _I was hoping this wasn't necessary, but I just cannot lose Granger. If I have to be completely honest with her, so bea_ t it.

To his surprise, he heard her soft, quiet laughter after he said his piece. She looked up to him, and not only saw the faint colour on his cheeks becoming more prominent but a confused look too.

"I'm not laughing at you, nor mocking you in any way if that is what you're wondering." She clarified.

"I'm just… glad you care. It just makes me happy to see it. I know you're not a person who reveals his emotions often. But it only makes it more special to know this must be critical if you do. Sorry if it sounds selfish of me to say this, but this is the first time someone acts like this for me, and I don't know, I feel _special_." She said, and it took all of his might and the piercing look on Mdme Pince, to stop lunging across the small table and snog her until her lips were bruised.

"You know Granger, you're lucky we're in the library; otherwise I would've snogged you senseless until you passed out." He said, and she thanked no one heard that because she went scarlet. "So this means you'll honour me with your presence as my dance partner?" He continued, and she smiled.

"You shouldn't have doubted in the first place! Of course, I will go with you Draco." She said giving him a small kiss.

After finishing homework, Hermione told him she would go and meet Ginny in the Gryffindor common room, so they parted different ways.

He decided to meet Blaise in the Slytherin common room. He didn't exactly get along with many Slytherins now for two reason: Many of them despised him for being involved with Voldemort, but many still admired him for being who he was. He never really cared for neither but was a little bit sad most of his close friends weren't with him. Mainly because half of his friends were either hiding or dead. It surprised him he missed Goyle, but the only way to contact him now was only by owl.

After Goyle's father was imprisoned in Azkaban, before he could be questioned, his mother fled with him out of the country. He told Draco his mother advised him it was best if he wasn't visited, and he would be finishing his studies in Durmstrang, most probably never to return to the UK. Crabbe... well he was dead. Not that Draco minded much about him.

Theo, although he and Draco weren't the best of friends, they had maintained an amicable and respectful relationship over the years. The time where Draco knew Theo had outsmarted him was when he stayed entirely out of the Death Eaters business. He later knew, by Blaise, Theo had family living in Sweden and went to live with them since his father had died in the war as a Death Eater. Theo left Hogwarts mere weeks before the war erupted, and he was one of the few students who finished school in time, by doing his N.E.W.T.s. externally. Theo had sent Draco an owl, telling him he had taken an apprenticeship to become a potions master, and he was currently working in the Ministry of Sweden. He also told him he planned to return to the UK, but it could take him years.

And Pansy, well… that was another story. Draco's relationship with Pansy had been great for his first 5 years at Hogwarts, but she gave him the cold shoulder in their sixth grade. It had been when he decided to entirely stop the advances she was giving him to go after Granger. He and Pansy had kissed, snogged, and.. other stuff in the past, but never actually saw the prospects of more than friendship. Being Slytherins, they only saw what was in it for both of them, and it worked just fine. But she was upset Draco preferred a _Mudblood_ over her, as she had told him.

They resumed their friendship after Draco strained his with Hermione not long after the winter break in their sixth year. But he never let Pansy insult her ever again, and he made it very clear their relationship was to be kept platonic _permanently_. He told Pansy too, he had all the intentions of resuming his friendship with Hermione if she would let him in the future. And as much as Pansy didn't like it, Draco had been her friend ever since they were nine, so she reluctantly accepted.

They both cared for each other, and Draco found himself also missing her company up to an extent. She had too gone out of the country, but for different reasons. He received an owl from her not too long ago, telling him she was now living happily in the city of Strasbourg, France, working as a journalist for a witch-fashion magazine. She also told him she was in a happy relationship with a German, head of a department in the French ministry, wizard.

**_"We may have little more than 6 months of relationship, but he says he loves me. He's rich, he's a pureblood, and he makes me happy. It depends on his work though, we might go and live for a year to Japan. If there's going to be a wedding, I'll make sure to invite you. You can even bring… your ~~Mud~~ Muggle-Born girlfriend with you if you want."_ **

Part of the letter had said. Draco saw the parchment had the word Mud scratched beside the word Muggle-Born. _Well, she sounds a tad less elitist_. _That's good_ he'd thought. He had never seen Pansy as the marriage type, but as ambitious as the girl was, she would do it if it meant reputation, power and money. His family wasn't the only one left on the brink of social diminishment after the war. His mother was doing whatever she could to remain almost untouched on the social ladder, so he guessed Pansy was doing something of the sort.

He found Blaise walking near to him with a visible, goofy smile on his face, and Draco approached him with a bemused expression.

"You might get confused for a Hufflepuff if you keep that smile of yours. We Slytherins don't make such a fool of ourselves with those smiles." He teased Blaise, walking by his side.

"I'm just happy mate. I believe I have enough courage now to finally make Lovegood my bird." Blaise said with dreamy eyes.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Well, let's just say I finally made her _blush_.  You might think making a bird blush is a silly thing, but you don't know how hard it was for me to accomplish it. Making her smile sure is easy, but getting a reaction like that from her is more difficult than when we learned how to apparate."

Draco only chuckled at him. "You sure have gone bonkers for her. I'm afraid some of her madness is rubbing on you. I might as well start calling you Batty Zabini or something of the sort." Draco said putting his hand on Blaise's forehead as if to look for fever.

"So original with your jokes," Blaise said sarcastically, slapping away Draco's hand.

"Anyway, I can't believe I even dared to mock her before! I can now believe why she's in Ravenclaw, she's _brilliant._ Not as much as your bird of course, but she has more brains than most of the girls I ever fancied."

"Well, I guess I can't really judge you. Your tastes have always been rather _odd_. Not to mention the she-weasel you used to fancy in our sixth grade. _Filthy blood traitor,_ " Draco said mocking Blaise "yeah right. You practically drooled every time you saw her play Quidditch!"

"I… I barely fancied her if that's what you mean! And it doesn't mean I am still drooling whenever I see her, not like _others_ , regarding a bushy haired witch." Draco opened his mouth to say something but closed it. "Yes, Ginny Weasley is a gorgeous bird, but my point here is, what I have found in Luna is not only appearances but also brains. And as picky and arrogant I am with girls, I don't think I'll find a better one than Luna. And you can't judge me Draco Malfoy," he said raising a finger at him "because your more-than-a-fling with Granger maybe be criticised for other reasons, but your relationship with her is still as _odd_ as mine like you say."

"Fine. You win." He said raising his arms as in defeat "I won't make fun again of your witch if you don't do it with mine. Not that either of them is ours..." He muttered the last part looking down.

"I thought you were already in a relationship with her," Blaise said. "You sure act like a couple already. Anybody would be blind to think you're "just friends"."

"Yeah well, it's complicated. It's not that either of us is afraid of the title or that we don't want to be together, but it's deeper than that. Maybe in the future, I'll be able to explain." He said, and Blaise understood. They might be best friends, but they knew there were some things meant to be kept within themselves.

"By the way, speaking of which, why aren't you already in a relationship with Lovegood? Or why is it I saw you like if you've been hit with an Imperio? It's been weeks, and all I see and hear is you talking about her."

"No, we're not dating, _yet_. But I asked her to the dance and after she thankfully said yes, I stole a kiss from her and well… you could say things are going great." He said looking pleased with his triumph, a big grin plastered on his face.

 _I hope it was that easy for me_ Draco gloomily thought, wishing he and Hermione switched places with Blaise and Luna.

* * *

 The first meeting Hermione had with Severus didn't happen until mid-November. Like the first time he asked her to meet her in his Potions office, he repeated the process, passing a letter discreetly into her hand telling her when to meet.

He made sure to arrange all of his affairs as a Headmaster as well as a teacher to make sure nobody would interrupt them. He knew he could scare away easily enough persistent students with doubts about their homework, but he wasn't so sure he would be able to explain if Minerva suddenly came in and saw her favourite student sitting, drinking tea with him. He made sure he was prepared with some excuses, just in case.

Just as eager his veela side was to meet with his mate, his rational, human side, was eager to throw up. Either way, both his veela and human side or whatever they were, were equally nervous for the meeting. _What am I to say when she arrives? Should a cup of tea be enough for the evening? What are we even going to talk about?_ He decided it was too late to freak out and to back away. _Maybe I'll offer a cup of tea politely, and then I can tell her off, and to leave me to die in peace._ He mentally fought with himself for minutes until a knock on his door interrupted him.

Before opening the door, he reassured himself he had taken the new veela potion he'd made (it was working remarkably well) and taking a deep breath, he proceeded to open the door.

He looked sideways to see if there was no soul in the corridors before focusing his eyes on the witch in front of him. Severus wasn't precisely the tallest of all men, but he was a great deal taller than many of his peers, and the witch standing in front of him looked rather short besides him.

She was wearing her school robes, being it was a Thursday, and her hair was mildly tamed in a knot that let a few curls fall wildly to her sides. She too wasn't wearing any makeup, and the only colour she had on her face was her natural, strawberry lips. _Lovely colour_ he mentally commented, but could not figure out which part of him was the one who thought about it. He also didn't know if he cared. Her big, brown eyes looked up at him expectantly, and he said: "Come in." And re-entered his office without looking back. He heard the door closing, meaning they were safe from prying eyes and he was able to relax just a little.

"Care for some tea, Miss Granger?" He said like the last time they were alone in his office.

"If you're so kind, thank you." She said shyly, and he gestured for her to take a seat in his old dark wooden chairs draped with dark purple velvet.

He poured 2 teacups with some of his stored Oolong tea he had and carried a tray with some biscuits he hadn't cared to eat at breakfast. After some silent minutes of only hearing the tea drinking, he saw the discomfort on her face. _She probably doesn't know what to talk about too_ , but to his surprise, she was the first one to break the cold silence.

"I never really thanked you for the poem you wrote for me in my birthday." She said just as shyly as when she thanked him for the tea. He was taken aback _It is rather apparent the culprit from the poem was none other than me, but why bring it up?_

"Why so sure it was me the one who wrote it?" he said even though he knew she knew it had been him. Truth to be told, Severus was always keen not only on potions but also in literature. One of his deepest secrets was a little, personal thing he allowed himself; he liked to read both Muggle and Wizard's literature. Because he thought most of them were like his father had been, he hated Muggles alright, but he recognised there were few, who had the brilliance to write more than decently. He used to write poems and short stories in his younger years, to later either burn them or keep them in one of his old books. It was one of the few things he liked to do to entertain himself.

"I couldn't say I'm one hundred per cent sure, but I wouldn't consider myself an eye candy for everyone to write me a poem like that. Besides, you look like the kind of person who likes to write." Hermione said, lowering her voice with the last part. _What did she know?_ He narrowed his eyes at her, but she quickly added,

"Not only that, I figured out by the initials written in it, S.V.S... At first, I wasn't sure who had sent it, but when I found out you were a veela, I deducted the initials were for _Severus Veela Snape_. So if my theory is correct, then it was you who sent it." She said with a little more volume in her voice. _Her mind is just as brilliant as I last remember, I'll give he points for that. This meeting might not be a complete waste of time._

"Very well. Indeed, you are correct about your theory Miss Granger. Though I must say, I wasn't in my five senses when I wrote that, so don't mind asking me further questions about it." He said with a final tone, and she merely nodded.

"Still, it was very nicely written. Thank you." She said with a trembling voice fearing she would enrage him. But he decided to ignore it.

"I presume you're not having problems with your courses so far? I would only think, a witch like you knows even more than what is asked in the N.E.W.T.s" He said without thinking. The statement had come out with a mixture of his rational and veela self. She only looked down, trying to avoid his stare, her cheeks going scarlet.

"I-I haven't had any inconvenience with any subjects. I have found I already know how to do everything that has been asked so far."

"Then I presume you'll be at the top of everybody in your examinations?" He said with the slightest sneer he could give. _Is he trying to make a conversation with me?_ She thought but quickly snapped out of it and nodded.

"I would certainly like to. My wish is to work at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I really despise how house elves are treated; like if they were objects! If I got to work in that department, there would certainly be some changes. Elf wages and holidays for example." She stated, and Severus thought she had genuine passion for the topic. She laughed nervously at the strange look he gave her,

"I'm sorry if I bored you with this topic, but I really do wish to see some equality with how magical creatures like elves are treated in the future, that's all." She said and looked at the floor, her cheeks red.

"Don't misunderstand me, I was just wondering when was the last time I saw someone like you. Willingly to give money for the work of an elf. I have never heard of such a wizard. You must have real courage to want to work there and actually make a difference." She blushed at his words, but Severus saw something he thought he wouldn't see it happen. Her smile. She had smiled at something _he_ had said! That little twitch on her lips, showing her white teeth were enough for Severus' heart to give a summersault. He didn't know nor cared which part of him it was, but he decided he didn't want to stop that tingling feeling in the pit of his stomach.

They talked and talked, discussing the many wonders of potions, some spells Severus remembered were taught in his youth and even some anecdotes. Hermione laughed once, and Severus thought it was a strangely charming thing. After the fourth cup of tea, wanting to put her cup back on the table, her hand slipped, and the cup fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.

"Oh, gods! I'm so sorry, I'll clean it up." She said bending over the floor picking up the pieces the Muggle way.

"Don't pick it up with-" he started when an "Ouch!" interrupted him "your bare hands." He finished bitterly. He got up to get a cloth, but before he could stop himself, he saw red droplets falling from her ivory fingertip. As if his body began managing itself with an empowering feeling of protection, he also bent over and took her hand in his. Their faces were so close he could smell her perfume, and saw her knot had come loose and her curls were sprawled everywhere. It was a very empowering smell, being so close to her, even with his potion. His vision became blurry and could barely see her hands.

She was trying to wipe the blood off with her robes using her free hand. "I'm all right." He heard her say, her voice far, far away. Before he could stop himself in any way, he did the most unthinkable thing. _He kissed her fingertip_. A peck, merely a kiss on her fingertip. And in that brief second, he tasted her skin and blood, and he felt his mouth watering. Just as fast as he kissed her finger, he remembered where they stood and retracted with the same speed.

"I-I… I'm sorry." He managed to say, appalled by his actions.

"I… it's not bleeding anymore." She said with a shocked expression on her face, and he looked at her in disbelief. He looked up at the clock and saw their _little_ meeting had lasted an hour.

"Miss Granger, as much as I regret my actions, I advise you to leave. It's almost past curfew, and you must return to your dorm. Don't worry about the cup, I'll clean it myself." He said, with his body stiff and with all the politeness in the world.

"Y-yes P-professor." She stammered and proceeded to leave the room, also very stiffly. She stopped at the doorway to give him a last glance and said, "Thank you for tonight, I look forward to the next time." with a little smile and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

 The first Quidditch match of the season started the same day it snowed. It wasn't the fluffy, white snow you would see in children's books, no, the weather of the match was more like rain combined with greyish snow.

Ginny's mood was quite the opposite from the weather. She was the only one in her team with the highest spirits, but she was also the most nervous of the team. It was her first game as the team captain, and every one had already told her they counted on her. She felt a little pressured, but assured the others it helped to concentrate on the game.

 _"I heard from McGonagall that it is possible for Gwenon Jones from the Holyhead Harpies to be present in the finals for the Cup. If we play really well this season, I may even become one!"_ Hermione remembered Ginny excitedly telling her the afternoon before the game.

The Quidditch pitch was packed, not only because there were students who were repeating a year, but as it was the first match played since last year, every single wizard residing in Hogwarts was present even though it was a Hufflepuff-Gryffindor game.

Hermione had managed to bring Draco to sit by her side, but with the condition she didn't try to charm his scarf with the Gryffindor colours.

Seamus offered to be the commentator for the match, and although he wasn't as funny as Lee Jordan had been, he still managed to crack the audience with a few jokes.

Draco was sitting at the left of Hermione while Harry was at her right. He wasn't exactly next to her because Ron and Hermione still weren't precisely on speaking terms yet, so he sat a little bit further from them.

The game started, and every single one of them -minus Draco, were cheering for Gryffindor. Harry's cheerings towards Ginny were above the rest of his peers, and when Gryffindor scored the first 10 points, the stadium roared with a new cheer.

Hermione's eyes had been set for Ginny, but her eyes unconsciously passed through the stands were the professors sat. Quickly scanning with her eyes the school staff stand, she saw a pair of black, piercing eyes looking straight at her, not minding the match at all. She couldn't help but remember days before when her professor had kissed her fingertip. At his touch, it had healed immediately, and Hermione refused to accept it had sent her a wave of not only comfort but pleasantness as well. She looked up and saw the obsidian eyes were still looking at her, and they looked straight into her brown ones.

Hermione sighed as she realised, for the first time, she couldn't entirely take her eyes off the intense gaze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please keep reading :)


	11. Unexpected visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thank you all for your kudos and comments, they are very much appreciated!
> 
> This chapter is a tad shorter than the others but the next one will be the longest ;)

* * *

 

The month of November was coming to an end, winter was rapidly approaching, and everybody could already feel soaked to the skin with the chilly breeze. Everyone except for the Gryffindors. Not only was their common room the warmest of the lot (something debatable with the Hufflepuffs), but their high spirits after winning against Hufflepuff kept them excited enough to forget about the weather. Ginny, Hermione found, was the hardest to beat up in high spirits -and talking. She couldn't be stopped when she started going on about their victory, and if someone didn't shut her up in time, she could go on rambling and rambling until a hex was thrown her way.

"They may laugh at me right now, but when _I'm_ a professional Quidditch player, they'll see who laughs then," Ginny said to Hermione and threw death glares at some seventh year Slytherins passing, who were mocking and imitating Ginny. She was trying very hard not to snap at them, after all, her temper had got the best of her before, and if it weren't for Luna or Hermione, Ginny would already be in detention for hexing at most 5 students.

"Ginny I know you don't mean any serious harm by it, but I really don't want to take points away for hexing other students. At least you haven't done it. By the way, how's Harry handling things?"

"Sorry Hermione, I just can't help myself if someone is being a twat, but I'll try harder" Ginny said sighing, "Oh, and he's doing so much better than I am. I love the way he defends me, and I wouldn't mind if he threw some hexes, but I don't sincerely care about them anymore. I mean -we did win against Hufflepuff, so why shouldn't I be proud? After the third score, _I knew_ we had the game…" _Oh no, there she goes again…_ thought Hermione as Ginny seemed to forget about Hermione's disinterest in the sport. She loved Ginny with her soul, but after the fifth time she re-telled her the game (as if Hermione didn't see it), Hermione didn't have any more space in her brain for Quidditch.

"Hey Ginny, do you know what'll you wear at the ball?" Hermione asked in a desperate attempt to distract Ginny's mind away from Quidditch.

"Oh Godric, thanks for reminding me!" Ginny said stopping her tracks.

"I was talking to Luna about it the other day actually. We agreed on going next weekend to Hogsmeade to look for dresses. She needs to go earlier because she wants to add her _personal touc_ h to it. I was going to tell you, but my mind was wrapped in Quidditch." She giggled. Hermione gave her a nervous laugh in response. _Uh-oh._ She wasn't expecting that answer. One of Hermione's least favourite things was shopping for clothes. But she too needed a dress.

"Sure, I'll go with you. I also need a dress for the matter." She said, glad it at least took Ginny's mind off Quidditch for a while.

"It's set then." She said smiling.

Classes went overly regular except for the load of work they've gotten so far. Even to Hermione, the schoolwork had started to be more substantial than any other year; it was true the homework and difficulty of all their subjects had increased dramatically in comparison when they had to do their O.W.L.s. But she was still the very best in all of her classes, and even with the boring Professor Binns' class, it didn't stop her from putting full attention.

Potions was a different story. It had started, like every other class, innocently. Same strict Professor Snape with his death glare, same way of teaching, and the only differences from past years would be the difficulty and the amount of work in their potions and essays. How wrong Hermione was. Her views regarding Potions did an ugly turn of 360º. It was now not only a class with more difficult potions than years before, but it was also the class where she would see a half-quarter veela, whom its mate was none other than her. Their class encounters were inevitable, and they knew they had to start acting as if nothing was going on if they didn't want further attention towards them.

After their first meeting, Snape hadn't spoken a single word to her. And she didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing. All she knew was the worrisome thought of her enjoying every bit of the sudden, brief yet warm kiss, his lips planted on her fingertip. It was a secret no one, not even the totality of her mind knew. She didn't want to accept it. _It's just the magical hormones acting. Just like Amortentia, there are no feelings involved, just magic!_ She would reassure herself constantly ever since their meeting. It had surprised her, in her Potion's class, how effortlessly Snape looked when he ignored her. As if her presence didn't bother him at all. It surprised her more when he discreetly pressed on her hand the little piece of parchment she knew too well already. It was the date of their next meeting.

**_Meet me in my potions office after dinner on Thursday. Bring your wand with you. _ **

_My wand? Why? Not that I'd go anywhere without it, but why is it required for our next meeting?_ Hermione tried to look and catch her professor's eye, in the hope he would give any hint of his message, but his sight was nowhere at reach, and he didn't look at her what was left for the class. "Hmph, as if he knew." Hermione hissed under her breath.

* * *

Two days after, she found herself lying in the snow outside in the school grounds next to Draco. It was lightly snowing, but the cold could easily sink deep into the flesh of anyone who was unprotected. She thanked their winter coats protected them adequately from the icy weather.

After several attempts at convincing her they wouldn't freeze to death, she complied and fell like a log of wood in the soft, white snow. They were near the lake, in an area adjacent to the forbidden forest. It was somewhat deserted, where they could have peace and talk freely without any curious ears and dynamic mouths.

He gazed Hermione's profile, and he saw her nose had turned a bright shade of red due to the coldness in the air (his would be doubtlessly redder), but her hair seemed to favour it. Varying from gold to dark chestnut, her curls were falling in the form of waves down to her shoulders; not anymore looking like the daughter of a Chow dog and they seemed tangled with the falling snowflakes. The view reminded him so much of the time of their first kiss in Hogsmeade. _Gods, it seemed decades ago, but it was hardly two years ago…_ He saw her smile when a few snowflakes fell into her eyelashes. _The sight only makes me re-live the flash of events like it was yesterday._ He thought she looked beautiful in the contrast of the snow.

"When are you going to stop ogling at me to get a glimpse at the beautiful view?" She said catching him off-ward, signalling at the black lake, who it's giant squid suddenly emerged few of its tentacles and splashed the water to break the tiny bits of ice there had been formed on the water. The slosh of water reached the lakeside up onto where they were laying, and they felt small droplets of bitter, raw water.

Hermione shrieked, and Draco swore "Bloody Squid!". They almost moved from their spot, but then they saw the tentacles slowly submerging into the lake and stayed. They resumed their peacefulness and Hermione quietly commented. "I've actually never seen the entire Squid. Only it's tentacles." "You haven't? Not even when you were chained in the depths of the lake?" He asked and shrugged at the thought.

She laughed. "Merlin, no! Thankfully I didn't have to; I would've been too terrified to go on with the hostage thing if I did. No, we were charmed, so the moment my head was underwater, I fell asleep until I was out again." She explained.

"Oh well, that seems more logical. You know, you can sometimes see the Squid in the Slytherin common room." She turned to look at him unfazed, and he frowned.

"I thought you would be a little surprised." He said feeling a bit disappointed.

"I would be if I hadn't read it first in _Hogwarts a History_." She giggled.

"I should've known. I inform you I have read the book too, but it was years ago, and I can't remember all of its detail. Not like _others_." He said, and she blushed. One thing sure about Hermione Granger, apart from being a bookworm, was her ability to retain most of what she's read.

 _"Have you_ seen it? I read you could see it, but only when it swam very close to the windows."

"I believe once or twice in my stay here. It wasn't a nice thing to see mind you; the first time I saw it was in my second year. I was alone in the common room reading, and suddenly, an enormous eye was outside of one of the windows. I screamed, and when a prefect came to see what had happened, I told him it was Crabbe's scream he'd heard, who was just coming into the common room, and I smoothly made my escape." He said, and she laughed. "We were told, if something were to happen in Hogwarts, and the Squid had to intervene, it would favour the Slytherins first. I believe it was an excuse to compensate the coldness and humidity of the dungeons." He said and after some time had passed added. "I could take you some time to the Slytherin common room. We're both head students, so we could make an excuse for patrolling the common rooms. Maybe, if we're lucky, we'll be able to catch a glimpse of it." He grinned.

"Thank you for the offer Draco." She said dispassionately with a close-mouthed smile. She didn't like the thought of going into a room full of Slytherins, and less with the fact she was Muggle-Born, and thankfully Draco had understood her tone,

"Granger, you know half of them are too ashamed to talk to you, and the other half have no option but to ignore you. And you wouldn't think for a second I was reckless enough bringing you when everybody would be inside, did you?" She seemed to relax more at this.

"Then I'll think about it."

They fell silent after a few moments, and Draco resumed his staring at Hermione, who was humming a melody with her eyes closed.

"I thought I told you to enjoy the view." She said with her eyes still closed, smiling.

"But _I am_ enjoying the fascinating view." Draco could almost sense her eyes rolling from under her eyelids.

"If you could be even more cloying, then please do." She said with a half laugh. _Was that sarcasm I heard in her voice? Merlin, I adore this witch!_

"Deal." He said and before she could say "What?" he was on top of her, pinning her wrists at her sides.

She parted her lips to retort, and his were on top of hers, silencing her complaints. All the coldness in the weather was long lost forgotten with the warmth of their kiss. Teasing her softly at the corners of her mouth, he kissed her mercilessly. Their lips were battling for domination, and with brief but warm nibbles to her lips, he fought with her. She realised he was in for winning, but she didn't want to lose either. Draco finally won, his tongue meeting with hers deepening the kiss, winning a sigh from her. She gasped when with a swift movement of his hand, his cold fingers touched the bare skin from her hip revealed by her sweater. 

Touching the hem of her skirt, he traced his lips downward to her neck and his teeth and tongue seemed fascinated by the smooth touch. She moaned as his kisses went even further down to her collarbone. She tried to reach his hair, but he pinned her free hand again to her side.

"Draco…" She sighed as his lips found the back of her ear.

"Yes? What is it?" He whispered in her ear, and his tongue traced her earlobe slightly, feeling her shiver under his touch.

"They… They'll see…" She said weakly, and he softly laughed.

"Granger, there's no one even close to where we are."

With lips fervently snogging, he finally let her hand roam in his hair, and he remembered how exquisite her hand felt against his skin and how he didn't want the feeling to ever end. He unbuttoned the top buttons of her blouse, and his fingers caressed her collarbone and further down, teasing the beginning of her breasts. She moaned in response, and he unbuttoned another button, revealing the hem of her bra. He traced his lips down to the hem and teasing her, he went up to kiss her lips again.

Draco didn't know how much longer their snogging session had lasted, but when droplets of freezing water fell upon then once more, they jumped and abruptly stopped what they were doing. They were panting from the sudden interruption and looked at each other. Hermione was pink from her cheeks, and red from her nose, hair dancing in the wind, and her clothes were all in place for the exception of her blouse, which was unbuttoned up to her chest, revealing a bit of her bra. He couldn't stop himself from looking, and she realised this, for she blushed even more prominently and proceeded to arrange her clothes furiously.

After she had finished arranging her clothes, they both looked at each other and laughed, forgetting all about the coldness.

* * *

Hermione walked hand-in-hand with Draco, down an empty corridor soon after they finished breakfast early in the morning. They really didn't mind about the stares of others anymore, but they preferred to make displays of affection when all costs were cleared.

"Do you ever think about fate?" Hermione suddenly asked, and they stopped their tracks.

"Why do you ask? I thought you didn't believe in that." He said resuming their walking.

"I don't. _I don't._ " She said as if reassuring herself. She shook her head. "Anyway, don't you think about the future? Like, what will happen next?" She said, and he looked at her, worry visible in her appearance.

"If you're asking what will happen after school ends, I'll certainly apply to the Ministry in either the Department of Mysteries or the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Whichever comes first. _But_ , I'll first help you find your parents and restore their memories." He said. "Was that what you meant?"

"I... not exactly. I mean -I'm very grateful for your help to find my parents but, I meant more like, who we are and what are we meant to do here, sort of thing."

"Granger, you're going to give yourself a headache if you keep dwelling on those thoughts. I don't mean it's a bad thing, but if it's causing you a lot of troubles, I believe you better stop." He said and kissed her forehead. He felt bad about her, but he didn't exactly want her thoughts to return to a _particular_ wizard. She smiled at him, and he couldn't resist kissing her. Catching her lips in his, he caressed her curls with his hand and pulled her towards him with the other, grasping all of her back with one arm. They lost themselves in their little world until someone yelled Hermione's name.

"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed running towards them, a piece of parchment raised in his hand. For the second time in a week, they abruptly separated with a jolt, but not before the green eyes watched their lip-lock.

His exclamations died in an instant, and his mouth opening and his eyes widened.

"Harry! I-I er… _oh, gods!_ I'm er…" Hermione stuttered, without making any sense and Draco talked to her.

"Potter, before you think anything, our relationship has nothing to do with you, and it started after she broke up with Weasley. So erase those thoughts away from your mind. Secondly, no, we're not anything official at the moment, but we would like to keep this as quiet as this has been. So we would be very pleased if you kept your mouth shut. Is that clear?" Harry numbly nodded, and Draco smirked.

"See you in class, Granger." He said directing himself at Hermione and purposely planted a fat kiss on her lips before he started walking, ignoring Harry. Once he was out of sight, she looked at Harry with big, terrified eyes and opened her mouth, nothing coming out of it.

"Well, I think I would have liked you to inform me before your _friend_ did." He said with a half grin.

"Harry look, wait-you're not mad?"

"Not really. I mean, I hate Malfoy is an experienced Legilimens, but he's right. I can't but in your relationships, and it did happen after you and Ron broke up, so I'm not pleased, but I'm also not entirely mad about it." Hermione let out air she didn't know she was holding and relief washed all over her.

"Thank Merlin."

"Who else knows?" Harry inquired.

"I would say Zabini, Draco would naturally have already told him, Ginny and Luna." She said with a guilty expression on her face.

"You told Ginny _before_ me?" He said offended she had preferred to tell his girlfriend before him.

"It's not that I wanted to, but she kind of corned me in sixth grade, so I gave in. It's only logical she knows about it now, we sometimes talk about it." Seeing the expression on Harry's face, she added. "But you must understand, Harry, I didn't want our relationship to suffer. I can barely handle with Ron ignoring me, and imagine what would've become of me if you both did." His expression softened a bit.

"I can't argue with that." He said in understanding "Are you planning to tell Ron?" he said after a pause.

"Once we are on a normal talking basis, yes, I'll tell him."

He shook his head, remembering why he was there and told her, "Anyway, Hermione, I wanted you to see this." He said handing her, the piece of parchment in his hand. It was an already opened letter. "You had already left when I received it. The owl carrying it was old, so it arrived after all the mail did."

She looked at the sender and saw the name **_R.J Lupin_** scribed on it. She smiled and read the letter the werewolf had sent her best friend.

_**Harry,** _

_**First, I must say I'm still feeling proud you decided to stay at Hogwarts to finish your studies. How are things going around? How are Hermione, Ron and the others? I hope you haven't taken advantage of being one of the oldest and bully first and second graders like your father and Sirius sometimes did.** _

_**I can't wait for you to see Teddy, he has grown so much! Although I can't stay with him every day, his grandmother is taking excellent care of him. Mrs Weasley, Bill and Fleur are also helping with as much as they can. I would think Dora would be very proud.** _

_**I can only say, things are not going so smoothly for me. Although I'm being paid for it, I'm not an official Auror, and you very well know why. Kingsley is trying to change the law, but not everybody feels safe with a wizard such as me to work at the Ministry. So they're keeping me in a low profile, giving me missions with only those Aurors in the Order.** _

_**Speaking of more serious things, Harry, although the war is over for the majority, there are still some pieces left. And some of those pieces aren't so small. It's not entirely safe for Muggle-Borns to go out there on their own; you saw what happened two months ago, so keep Hermione safe the most. As Moody would say "Constant Vigilance!". We haven't caught all of the remaining Death Eaters who are still on the run, although we can be sure it's the minority, the danger has not ceased. It's nothing too worrisome, but it's a fair warning to keep yourselves in awareness.** _

_**I'm planning to visit you on your next visit to Hogsmeade; there are a few things I must discuss with Professors McGonagall and Snape. It would also be an opportunity to see you all and see if we can introduce your friends to the Order.** _

_**Write me back as soon as you get this.** _

_**Remus** _

"I replied as soon as I got it," Harry said answering the question in Hermione's head before she could say it.

"When did you tell Remus to meet us?"

"Four past thirty, I told him we could meet in Three Broomsticks."

"Oh, I'll tell Draco then. Apparently, I'm going to go ball gowns hunting with Ginny and Luna too." She said with a pained face.

"Then you're not coming…?" Harry said looking at her as if she really thought looking for dresses was more important than a meeting with Remus.

"Gods Harry I am! We plan on going early in the morning! I thought you knew me better. You guess I would like to go dress hunting the _whole_ day?" She said chuckling thinking how could girls really spend that much time in clothing when there were much more exciting things to keep the mind busy with. He then shook his head.

"By the way… who's Ron taking to the ball?" She asked nervously. "We're not entirely friendly yet you see… and I don't want him to get madder at me for going with Draco."

"Erm, I'm not entirely sure, he mentioned something about a 6th year Hufflepuff, but I wouldn't bet my life on that." He said, and she nodded meekly.

* * *

Knocking on his office door twice, Hermione felt the palm of her hands sweating. Not a word or any contact of sorts had been passed through the wizards ever since the little note on the parchment, and she couldn't help but feel nervous. _Why must I bring my wand?_ She wished the fears and assumptions that crept down in her consciousness about what it was going to didn't come true.

Not even fifteen seconds had passed when the door of the office opened, revealing the bloodless face of her teacher.

Like the other times, he let her in without a word, and she sat in one of his dining chairs, taking a cup of tea from the tray laying on the table. She looked at the biscuits on the plate, and she guessed he didn't eat those either at breakfast time. House-elves would carry trays of food to the professors whenever they didn't feel like coming to the Great Hall and eat alongside everyone else. She guessed that must've been the case because Hermione had no memory whatsoever of seeing Professor Snape at breakfast or at lunch during her years at Hogwarts ever. She made a mental note about telling McGonagall about the house elves later.

They sat in silence for a few moments, the only sounds were the ones of the clock and the sound of them drinking their tea. She didn't face him, but she could feel his intense stare almost burning her skin. "Why the need for me to bring my wand today sir?" She broke the silence, unnerved by the quietness and the clock ticking.

"If you don't mind Miss Granger, I was hoping to do an experiment of sorts." He said placing his words carefully.

"What type of experiment?" She said slowly, hoping she didn't reveal her fear in her words.

"I haven't taken the potion that will cease some of the veela magic in me, and I wanted to know how far can it go with me still being sane. I don't quite fancy being drugged all day you see, and although the veela blood in my system is enough not to let myself become sick of it, it is rather tiresome to brew the potion every day. And even though I still was the one who brewed it, I can only start to comprehend how Lupin must feel." He said, his eyes never leaving her "Besides that, I also don't fancy the idea of plucking hairs from your head every week." Hermione felt her cheeks go pink. She knew he had been plucking hairs from her every now and then, he had mentioned something about a potion in their last meeting, although she never did realise precisely when did he do that.

"Oh. I… suppose it's going well until now?"

"I am still under the influence of the last brew I drank earlier, I can still feel it in my body, it is a matter of minutes for the full effect to go away." He said bitterly, and until then she realised how far he was sitting from her. He wasn't facing her with his body, and he looked to be searching for a distraction of sorts.

"I needed you to bring your wand in case anything perilous were to happen." He explained. "So all we need is to wait."

Talking to Snape, wasn't all that bad, Hermione thought. She found they had a broad range of things in common. They both had a fascination to read, both were mighty wizards, and although his appearance was almost always sombre, Hermione thought she could see a tiny bit of himself in the dark mask of indifference he always wore.

She began to become aware of the change in his demeanour. He was starting to pause more often when he spoke, and she could see he was getting close to her but not really. It looked as if his body was pulling him towards her, but his face and spirit wanted to be elsewhere. Hermione grasped her wand in her fingers and stared at her professor, nervous at the fact she didn't have a plan. His breathing became shallower, and she could catch a glimpse of his eyes. Bright, metallic, black eyes she saw. The lights in the room began to flicker, and when she saw his fist clenched, she knew it was raw magic of his, desperately trying not to snap.

"I-It's fine. You don't have to do this to yourself." She said raising her hand in his way. "Let me get you the potion! Where is it?" She said standing up, and he weakly signalled her with his arm one of the far end closets in the room. She walked across the room and began looking for anything that looked like a veela potion. She heard him say, "I-It's the blue flask…. In the little box in the second stand..of the shelf." As if he knew she was searching for something with the sign "VEELA POTION" somewhere in his office.

She opened one of the shelves and tried to ignore the smell coming from all the different vases and flasks there where. She finally found the little box he said there was and opened the lid, and indeed, a couple of containers, filled with a blue potion, sat. The liquid was shining, and it gave them the look of being a blue lightbulb. She took one of the flasks, and closed the lid -not before noticing, next to the flasks, a lock of curly hair the same colour as hers, neatly secured in a tiny, emerald green ribbon wrapped with a bow. She tried not to flinch at the sight and closed the lid quickly and went to her teacher to give him the potion.

"Here, take it." She said stepping closer to him and saw he was clasping his knees with both of his hands now. "I-I don't believe suffering is necessary for you." She said getting even closer and extended her arm to him. But instead of grabbing the flask in her hand, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her to him. She gasped, the movement caused her to drop the flask, and it crashed into the floor, breaking into millions of pieces.

He stood up and pinned her to the closest wall, burying his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent, and he purred. She was too stunned to do anything and saw she had left her wand at the table. _How can you have left your wand, you idiot?_ She mentally cursed herself.

She felt his hot breath against her skin, and she couldn't help shiver. _Is… is he purring?_

"Mate… my mate…mine… _Hermione_." He whispered in her ear, and all of her senses betrayed her, making her all wobbly. Her vision became blurry, she smelled nothing but exhilarating sugariness in the air, her legs stopped working, and if it weren't for Snape holding her, she would have slumped down to the floor. He began tracing her lips with a thumb, and Hermione closed her eyes and tried to shut down everything and everyone surrounding her. She didn't know if she was feeling guilty she was the source of his professor's actions or the fact she was feeling ashamed she liked his touch. _It's only magic, no emotions, just hormones acting on themselves, just that…_

He lingered his lips on her skin and delicately kissed her jawline as if she would break and he faced her, his obsidian eyes infiltrating and consuming in her brown ones. His nose brushed against hers and she couldn't help let out a gasp, his thumb leaving her lips and grazed her cheek.

She could almost feel her lips touching his, and she didn't know if she liked it or not. _Just magic… hormones…. Not his real self….!_ The moment was just too enticing for Hermione to think properly anymore, and she knew the intoxicating and sickly sweet scent was probably the pheromones. She was losing all sign of putting on a fight, and she knew she was this close from kissing her Potions professor. _Just… magic!_ Hermione forced herself out of the situation and weakly whispered with all her might, "Professor S-Snape…. We can't… Snape…" She said gasping but found she couldn't even hear her words. "Snape, S… _Severus_!" She said at last, and she saw the sudden retract from her teacher at the sound of his first name. It had given her mere moments before she fell under his spell again. She quickly stepped out from him, took her wand, and walked at the entrance of his office, as far as she could get away from him.

"I-I'm sorry for breaking your flask. I'll make sure I'll get you a new one." She said barely catching her breath and opened his door. "T-Thank you for inviting me tonight." She stuttered quickly and left his office with her cheeks burning, heart racing and her hair messy.

* * *

December came as chilly as the last days of November, and daylight was getting shorter. One of the lasts rays of sunlight illuminated the castle as many students left for their visit towards Hogsmeade. Hermione couldn't help but shiver at the thought of not being entirely safe yet outside of the castle.

"Of course we'll be back before the meeting with Remus!" Ginny chanted as they made their way towards Hogsmeade. "It's barely eleven o'clock, and I'm sure we'll be back at four. Besides, the stores are closing earlier, so we don't have much of a choice here."

They got close enough to HoneyDuckes and Hermione realised there weren't much clothing shops for formal dresses around the area. Not any she knew of. And not only that, many shops still remained unopened after they were destroyed in the war or their owners fled the country, making their options smaller still.

"Uhm, Ginny, do you know any clothing shops close? I haven't visited the whole lot of Hogsmeade, but it doesn't look like there are any formal clothing shops around the corner… and Gladrags Wizardwaer doesn't seem like they sell ball gowns." She said trying to make memory if she ever saw one here.

"Of course there aren't! This is a small village! The stores here don't have anything good! No, we're going to Diagon Alley, Luna knows just the place." Ginny said grinning alongside Luna.

"You're kidding! We _can't_ leave Hogsmeade, it's in the rules."

"Ha! As if you haven't broken any! Don't be such a ninny and come here." Ginny said looking at Hermione with a mischievous grin.

They apparated to Diagon Alley to one of the streets Hermione never knew about. It had few pedestrians in it, mostly women, and they reminded Hermione so much of how Mrs Malfoy would dress. They stopped in front of a store named " _Fée Recherché_ " and it looked like its cheapest piece of clothing was worth at least one hundred galleons. She eyed the store sceptically and turned to see the grin on both Ginny and Luna's faces.

"My mum was friends with the owner, she used to come here all time when I was younger and since she died, the owner, Mrs Flinggerspink, told me anytime I would shop here, she would leave it to me almost for free." Luna explained to Hermione, and she understood now why Ginny was so eager to come too."And I know no one knows us around the area, so we're safe here." Luna said smiling, and Hermione felt relieved no one would know they were here, and she wouldn't have to spend all of her remaining galleons on a dress she would probably wear one night.

After countless hours of looking for the "perfect" dress, Ginny and Luna (mostly Ginny) found a dress that would suit Hermione the best. Not that she couldn't make her own choices, but she knew Ginny had a better fashion sense than her. Luna chose a strapless pink gown and said (after they left the store) she would embellish it with golden sequins. Ginny's dress was longer than Luna's, choosing a more gothic style champagne tulle dress with black lace appliques on the top. Hermione's was a pinkish champagne dress, with a high necklace, and sheer back. The dress had many little white lace flowers, and it also ended with tulle. She had claimed they looked more like they were attending a wedding, but after further complaints on Ginny's part, she accepted and bought it.

They kept their dresses in a black material so it wouldn't be seen, and they put them inside of Hermione's charmed handbag and left for Three Broomsticks just in time to meet Remus and the others. Just as they entered, Hermione saw Draco, and he greeted her with a chaste kiss before they found Harry, already sitting down with Ron, Remus and…Professor Snape.  _Brilliant, just brilliant_ Hermione thought.

"Ah, Hermione!" Remus greeted her with a warm hug, and she complied. "It's good to see you, Remus." He offered the witches some chairs for them to sit; they were in a secluded, isolated place of the pub so they wouldn't be heard.

"You just missed Minerva, she had to attend some affairs she left in the castle. Oh well, anybody fancies a butterbeer? My treat." Remus said smiling, and all the young wizards present nodded affably. After they all had a butterbeer in hand, and they had some chit-chat concerning the past events in their lives, they discussed some of the matters involving the threats about the remaining Death Eaters.

"You must all be careful. Especially you, Hermione, you're the only Muggle-Born witch among us." He said, and she saw with the corner of her eye Professor Snape visibly stiffening, but thanked nobody else saw it.

Remus gave some details about the Order to Ginny, Luna and Draco but wasn't specific because they weren't part of it yet. "We'll probably introduce you somewhere around the holidays, to have a chance of meeting everyone else." He then told them, he needed a quick word with the ones who already were, and they left to a near table, for the exception of Draco, who whispered so only she could hear him "I'll wait for you in one of the benches outside, if I'm not there, I'll be in Tomes and Scrolls."

"We need to have constant patrolling here in Hogsmeade," Snape said after his dead silence since Hermione arrived. She could feel his stare straight at her, but she ignored it. She decided to look down at her almost empty jar of butterbeer instead.

"Severus, we're doing everything we can to do that. But you must understand, the Auror office is packed with work. Even I, who am not an official Auror, have a lot of work lately. But as long as it is daylight and students are together, I don't believe there is a reason for an attack." Snape sneered at him, but Hermione could detect there was more to it than just a reluctant agreement. "Besides, I don't believe there is an urgency concerning protection here in Hogsmeade. Many Muggle-Born students didn't come back this year because their parents are still afraid of their security after what happened. And I don't blame them. But as long as they're in groups, they're safe here. In fact, not many students came back at all." Remus said, taking a long gulp from his butterbeer with gin and placed his now-empty jar back on the table.

It looked like Snape wanted to say more, but decided against it. Although what Remus noted made Hermione think. It was true, although still packed with students, the school was far emptier than any of her previous years in it. And not only because of the absence in Muggle-Borns, but Wizarding families that had gone into hiding or preferred their kids to go study abroad as well. She thought that was probably the reason there was enough room for all of the eighth graders in the dorms.

The endless black eyes staring at her made her remember their last meeting, which ended quite abruptly, and also incidentally, where they almost kissed. Hermione squirmed slightly in her chair at the thought, remembering she hadn't felt uncomfortable with it and how, deep in herself, she didn't want it to end. _Stop! Just S-T-O-P! Magic! Remember, it's all the product of magic!_ She looked up, and his eyes didn't leave her for a second. She blushed deeply and prayed no one noticed it, Remus was scribbling furiously on a parchment he told them he needed to send, Ron had gone up and asked for another butterbeer and Hermione's eyes landed momentarily on Harry. She saw he had looked at his professor and back at her, curiosity and something else on his face. _Shite!_ She quickly glanced at the window, with renewed interest, avoiding both wizards until the end of their meeting.

After their meeting with Remus, Snape reminded them they must return before dinner and left quickly, leaving behind the others. Hermione also left the pub quickly, and desperately looked for Draco (who was probably now in Tomes and Scrolls), or for anything she could escape to, and then heard the voice of Harry calling her before she could be out of eyesight.

"Hey, Hermione! May I have a word with you?"

_Oh Merlin, please let it be just Harry asking for something about homework or else...!_


	12. The ball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter so far.
> 
> Thank you all for the comments and kudos, continue reading and enjoy :)
> 
> NOTICE! (dresses): I didn't think I would do it but if you want to see how I pictured the dresses the girls will be wearing at the ball, the links are below ;)

Luna's dress: <http://lulusvintage.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/04/15/vintagegriffin1.jpg>

Hermione's dress: <http://ostinter.info/aliexpress-wedding-dress/unique-aliexpress-wedding-dress-or-com-beautiful-chic-sequined-beading-sheer-back-77-aliexpress-wedding-dresses-2018/>

Ginny's dress: <https://www.dhgate.com/store/product/gothic-wedding-dresses-black-lace-appliques/206856207.html#se10-10-1a500638573> 

* * *

Hermione was deliberately avoiding Harry. And he knew it.

After meeting with Remus, Hermione knew Harry thought there was something fishy, taking a peek at the awkward glances thrown at her by the sallow-looking wizard. And she also knew her excuse of " He must probably have been worried about me being a Muggle-born. Harry, just because he's never shown it, doesn't mean he doesn't care about us nor that he isn't human!" hadn't bought Harry in the least. It was a pretty lousy excuse for someone who actually _didn't_ care for them at all and acted on it openly. _Well, me being the exception of course…_

The next week passed, and Hermione felt she had used a time-turner over and over every single day like she did in her third year. Harry kept stealing glances at her and tried to ask her about it, but she squirmed her way out of every single attempt. She didn't want to raise any suspicion of anything happening between her and the Potions master. _Because there isn't anything!_ She thought, perhaps if she avoided the topic in the whole, it would turn out it wasn't real at all, and it was only a very vivid and ghastly product of her imagination. Oh, how she wished she had such luck.

She thought about her "scandalous" life, as Parvati and Lavender would say if they were here, _How much gossip would they make out of my life if they were here? I don't know who was worse if Skeeter or them!_ She couldn't help her mind lingering a second more on Lavender. During and after the events in their sixth year, "friends" wasn't exactly a term Lavender nor she would have used for their relationship -but having shared a room for six years, certainly made them more than just acquaintances. She remembered with bitterness she had had the possibility of having the same grim fate as Lavender and shook her head, trying not to think about the bloodshed of the scene at war and the hideous face of Fenrir Greyback feasting on her.

On the other hand, Parvati must have probably (like most of her generation), left her studies to pursue a job. After the war, many working places (except St. Mungo's) had been accepting past students from her generation who didn't finish -because of the war- in time to do their N.E.W.T.s. It was primarily to help the economy that was threatening the English Wizarding community of falling into bankruptcy. Luckily, the foreign aid and many willing donors stopped this from happening, so seven months after the war, the Ministry was only a few thousand Galleons short in their budget, compared to the ludicrous amount it had been on May. _Now thinking about Parvati, I believe I have seen Padma sitting at the Ravenclaw table a few times this term. Maybe her parents did let her continue study at Hogwarts after all,_ Hermione wondered as she made her way towards the library.

She closed her mind away from all the gossip emerging these past months concerning her personal life and focused it on something far more important right now. Her N.E.W.T.s. They were barely six months away, and Hermione couldn't find enough time to study all of her subjects thoroughly without having a distraction of sorts concerning her personal life. Having pushed away all concerns about blond wizards and Veelas, she fixed her mind in her Charms essay due in a week. _It's not going to do it by itself!_

After finishing Flitwick's essay on the principle of the Protean Charm (known by heart), McGonagall and Sprout's homework, and advancing the reading of Snape's class, Hermione's eyelids became more burdensome, and the metaphysical properties of Felix Felicis became blurry. She could do the essay for D.A.D.A's class tomorrow. Their new professor, Dante Kipling, wasn't exactly what you could call courageous, and he wasn't very strict for that matter.

Just before she could give in and slump in the pile of books in front of her, she saw a flash of bright, red hair passing one of the bookshelves, and she jerked up her head hastily from her desk. _Ron?_ She followed the lanky wizard and peered through one bookshelf and to her surprise, saw he was sitting reading a book.

"Ron?" She asked, and he looked up, his pale blue eyes widening at her sight.

"Uhm -hey Hermione…" He said, and his view turned towards his book again, ignoring the brunette witch watching him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked before she could stop herself. Regret came soon after, for Ron's ears turned pink, and he looked at her with reproachful eyes.

"Why? Can't _I_ come to the library? Ron Weasley is so dimwitted he can't come and study in the library? Is that why you ask?" He flared, standing up. Hermione blushed, and with a slow "Shhh!" she tried to calm down the famous Weasley temper before Mdme. Pince kicked them out from the library.

"Ron, please! Keep it quiet, or else we'll both be thrown out!" She pleaded, and he said nothing, but the purplish tone in his cheeks told her he wasn't calm at all.

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry," Hermione said, and she could see his shoulders relaxing a bit "I was just surprised, that's all. Ever since I know you, you were never really keen on coming here. In fact, I believe you would avoid coming if it were possible."

"Yeah well, I s'pose that's true," Ron said, visibly calmer than his previous outburst.

"So… why did you come here?" Hermione said after some uncomfortable silence, trying to make casual conversation.

"Homework. You see, now that we're not together I can't ask you to help me with schoolwork. And Harry is not that big of a help either… so here I am."

"Oh." She cracked in a small voice. "I won't keep you then -the Charms essay is quite easy though." She said and turned to retrieve her stuff from her table.

"Hey, Hermione,"

"Yes?" Hermione turned her head, hoping the endless silent treatment between them would end at last.

"I heard you're going with Malfoy to the dance. Is it true?"

"Oh," She said, mildly disappointed he'd asker that "well, yes. Yes, I am." She nodded her head a bit.

"Should've known you would choose the git." He muttered, the scowl returning.

"Oh, Ronald _please_!" She hissed, getting angry "It's been three months since we broke up! Three! I'm sorry if that's a short time for you, but each person feels grief differently. I believe I need no permission nor judgement from anyone about my decision concerning who my dance partner is!" She said at last and stormed off the library, books in her arms, before Mdme. Pince could scold her. She was halfway through the fourth-floor corridor when she heard Ron's yellings calling her.

"Hey, Hermione! Hermione! 'MIONE!" He called at last, and she turned at the sound of the nickname both Harry and Ron gave her. Although Harry never used it and sometimes Ron did, it wasn't the best of nicknames, to Hermione's opinion. In fact, she actually despised it quite a bit. 

"What is it, Ron? If you came here to continue to trash-talk about Draco, I won't listen! I'm sick and tired of trying to talk to you! But I don't know if you're that thick or -don't interrupt me- or if you really want our relationship strained! If you ever want our relationship to improve you need to understand Draco and I come both in a package deal!" She said finally snapping. She felt something lifting from her shoulders and chest, an invisible weight that only kept pulling her downwards finally leaving her body.

"I came to say I was sorry about what I said to him. But wait -what do you mean about a package deal? Do you mean you and Malfoy…?" Ron said, and Hermione turned pink.

"I… I…" She was at lost of words. _No time for funny business anymore Hermione, better tell him the truth._ "No. Draco and I are not in a relationship if that was what you wanted to ask. But I can't deny the emotional attachment we have is deep and maybe, in the near future, we may call it something else ." She said. _I can't understand why didn't I say this to him before? It wasn't so bad, was it?_

She saw a flash of emotions pass through Ron's eyes, ending with uncertainty. She placed her words carefully before speaking,

"I never cheated on you, Ron." _Not physically at least,_ She said half telling the truth. She felt guilty and miserable about what she said wasn't exactly truthful, given that emotionally, her heart was already with Draco way before they broke up, or even before they even dated. And physically, she actually thanked Snape for interrupting her almost kiss with Draco. Otherwise, she wouldn't have any excuses for being a cheater. _Although I know, I'm already one, but I couldn't exactly help my emotions back then._

Ron's face was washed from the pink tone residing on him, and he seemed more relaxed.

"I'm sorry." He finally said.

"It's okay. I'm sorry too. I truly didn't mean for this to happen but... well we can't really control how we feel about others."

"It's just… I can't help it!" Ron said, breaking the silence residing in them. "I guess it's partially jealousy what's been keeping me from talking to you. Ever since you became friends with the g -I mean Malfoy, I guess I've been jealous. Jealous of the chemistry you two obviously displayed. Jealous of the way your minds clicked in classes and how easily you two could work together without any mistakes. Jealous of how effortless you looked talking to him over topics neither Harry nor I would've understood. Harry suspected sooner or later you would be going out with each other, and I denied it. I tried dating Lavender-" Ron stopped, still dismayed about her fate before continuing "-and it was great for a time… my intentions were mildly biased with the fact I wanted to make you jealous, I admit it. I'm not proud of it. But then… I saw how happy you looked all of a sudden, and it didn't take me long to realise how much more time you were spending with Malfoy.

"And even though I was dating Lavender I realised how much I cared for you. I tried telling myself it was because she didn't make me happy. And well, I finally broke up with her. And I was still as miserable. I was your friend again, and it made me happy, but I couldn't help feeling angry and gloomy at the same time because you seemed happier with him. I don't really know what happened between you both at that time and I honestly don't want to know. But I do remember the dancing monkey inside of me when you found out he was a Death Eater. I know, I know I should've felt sadder at the fact Dumbledore died… but deep within myself, I thought "I finally may have a chance!" And when you kissed me I was the happiest man alive! Everything was going right.

And then you came, on May 5th -if I can still recall- you came and told me you became friendly with Malfoy again…"

_**May 5th, 1998** _

Ron was standing in the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place, helping Harry and Hermione cleaning the place; they decided to live in it, for they were both pretty much homeless. After countless and unsuccessful attempts Mrs Weasley did to try and convince both to come and live at the Burrow for meanwhile, until they've found for a _proper_ place to live (Grimmauld Place wasn't in her top 10 dream houses), very politely both rejected the offer stating it was a perfect opportunity for independence. Although back in 1995-1996, they had done a lot of house cleaning, the place still looked filthy and crammed with useless (and potentially cursed) stuff.

Bill offered to come later and help remove some of the worst portraits in the place, Mrs Black's being one of them, and clean up some areas around that might have a curse on them. Mrs Weasley promised them she will stop by to bring sandwiches for lunch, and help them too with the cleaning.

Harry was in Sirius room, having claimed it as his own, probably looking for useful or significant things inside of it; meanwhile, Ron was cleaning up all of the mould and dirtiness accumulated behind the counters and shelves in the kitchen, Crookshanks decided to leave him sometime after his futile attempts at catching Ron's attention. He heard a slight crack from behind him, and he turned, facing a beaming Hermione just arriving from Hogwarts.

"I'm going to miss disapparating from Hogwarts once Minerva places the jinx on the castle again." She muttered to herself.

"Oy! You returned!" He said and kissed her in a welcoming manner.

"How was your meeting with McGonagall? You sure seem happy." He commented after she placed her purple beaded handbag and jacket on the kitchen table.

"Yes well," She said with slightly ragged breath "It wasn't bad. People are already cleaning up the castle, and I told her we would help with whatever we could, starting next week." She said, and Ron groaned, tired already from cleaning mouldy walls. _Bloody hell,_ n _ow we'll have to clean up rocks and stuff of the castle too!_

"We were Hogwarts students Ron, and we're good civilians too; we must go and help! It was practically our home for six years!" She said as if reading his thoughts.

"But like you said, we're not Hogwarts' students anymore…"

"Exactly the point I wanted to reach. I'm returning to finish my N.E.W.T.s next year." She told him flatly. "Minerva and I discussed how well it would do to both Harry and you to return and finish school too."

"But 'Mione! Kingsley has already assured both Harry and me a post in the Auror Office!"

"Ron _I know_. But having your N.E.W.T.s won't do any harm, would it? I bet Harry wouldn't mind returning to Hogwarts -I mean, Ginny will be there and all. Besides, if you want to work outside of the Ministry or in another country, I doubt having no N.E.W.T.s will do much help. Just think about it, Ron." She said rubbing his arm, the smile placed on her lips since she arrived, never fading.

"I can't believe returning to school makes you that happy." He said laughing in disbelief pointing at her very happy demeanour she was still expressing.

"Oh, _that_." She said laughing somewhat nervously "Well, it wasn't precisely that what has kept me in high spirits." She said blushing in a light shade of pink.

"We talked about what is going to happen in the castle; Minerva is going to take place and be headmistress, along with Professor Snape, once he's out from St. Mungo's that is. Anyway, at the end of our meeting, Minerva commented to me she has decided to name me Head Girl. Seeing there are few seventh graders, and I want to return to the school, she told me she saw no one better to have the position." She said smiling. "And well… I ran into Malfoy too."

"And what did the twat wanted? Did he do anything to you, Hermione? Because if the git did…" Ron said, getting angry.

"Oh no! No no no, nothing of the sort! Remember that he defected Voldemort! Besides, the war is over, so there are no more enemies." She said frowning slightly at Ron.

"You can't be too sure 'bout that! I wouldn't mind seeing his pointy pale face anymore in my life!"

"Actually… we're friends again." She said in a small voice and a little hesitant, but nevertheless beaming again and all of Ron's insides froze. _Friends? As in… the way they were "friends" in sixth grade?!_ Ron thought and began to panic.

"You see, when I was on my way out I found him cleaning up some rocks with I believe was Blaise Zabini? Anyway, he approached me and asked if we could talk and well… Apparently, he was sort of blackmailed into becoming a Death Eater in the first place, it was more like he was under the Imperius curse actually… As I was saying, yes, he never wanted to become one, the night Dumbledore died he was taken back to his house, and while he was restrained there, other Death Eater took his place with the Polyjuice potion. Long story short, we decided to forget everything bad that happened between us and start fresh." She said beaming.

" _And you believe him?_ This is a former Death Eater we're talking about here love. Friends or not, you know Malfoys always see what's in it for them." Ron said with an angry tone.

"What do mean by that? Of course I do! He's been my friend long enough for me to believe him and to see the reason why he couldn't tell me anything before." She said dismissively, trying not to sound offended. "Oh! He also told me Professor McGon- I mean Minerva has decided to name him Head Boy! Strange how things turn out huh?" She said taking a glass from the cupboard, filled it with water and drank it.

"Yes, _very_ strange." Said Ron not really paying attention to what Hermione had said after the words came out of her lips saying, "Malfoy and I are friends again…"

_**December 1998** _

After Ron's long story and explanation of the why of his actions, Hermione stood in front of him, unfazed. She already knew this was coming and did what seemed more natural to her and hugged him with all her might. Taken aback, he returned the hug sometime after, with a little hesitation but with the same affection. Hermione somewhat knew they were best friends again. She felt hot tears threatening her eyes _I'm glad I have Ron back_ but decided against them.

"Ron, thank you for being my friend, my brother."

She looked up at him, and he smiled.

* * *

Having become friendly again with Ron kept Hermione in a more cheerful mood than any other of the previous days. The Christmas spirit brought, yet again, a sense of relief and joy within the Wizarding community that had been absent the last year at the cost of the emerging war. Something Hermione also felt different within herself was the way she started looking at Draco. Sure enough, having resolved things with Ron lifted a weight on Hermione she didn't know she had. It was definitely easier walking hand-in-hand with Draco as well as she now didn't have that pricking feeling in the back of her head he would spot them and berate how much she betrayed him. Of course, she still had the same feeling about Professor Snape catching them, but it was definitely easier to escape away from his sight than Ron's. He wasn't a student, so he didn't attend almost every class alongside them and that enough was an enormous relief.

Ron seemed to be a tad more relaxed when he was with Hermione, but nevertheless she could still see the a faint scowl forming on his face when she and Draco were together. Although it bothered her, she had to accept it was a significant improvement from the silent treatment they were in mere days before.

Kisses became more heated, physical contact became more prominent, and Hermione couldn't help the sudden shiver that went down her spine every time her bare skin touched his. They were in their last week before holidays, and while almost everybody was buzzing over the ball, Hermione found the spare time in her shared classes with Draco not to study, but to glance dreamily at him. In almost every class they were reviewing everything they had seen, so for the first time in her life, Hermione sacrificed her some of her spare time glancing at a boy instead of reading. _I'm becoming daft_ she thought about how silly and girly she must've looked, waiting for the time Draco to take a peek at her.

Surely enough, he did, and her stomach filled with millions of butterflies. It was a problem though when in their Potions class, Professor Snape eyed her suspiciously, she accidentally added more Wiggentree twigs into her Love Potion Antidote, making its contents bright red instead of purple. It was the very first time she had messed up this bad in Potions, and although Snape hadn't spoken a single word to her after their disastrous meeting, he eyed her with suspicion, his eyes flashing towards Draco before returning to her. She said nothing while looking down, and started the potion again, thanking she still had more than half of the class to re-do it.

"Granger, if you don't stop _ogling_ at me, I might just surpass you in being the best of the class," Draco said, catching up with her after potions, surprising her with taking her hand in his, and flashed a white smile at her when she looked up.

Hermione turned scarlet and shook her head. "I-I wasn't! Must be your imagination!" She said waving her hand in the air. "I was merely checking if anyone needed help, and I accidentally slipped more twigs. That's all."

She knew this hadn't convinced him in the least and she decided to look at the window with its frosty glass instead. She knew he was as covetous of her as she was of him, and she also knew how flushed and hot her cheeks felt every night when she went to bed after the burning and fierce kisses she would get from saying good night to the Head Boy. It became kind of like a ritual to her, and before she went to sleep, she unconsciously touched her lips, and could still taste and feel the heavy and velvety lips of Draco.

"Hey Granger," Draco snapped her out of her thoughts concerning her last dream, involving a white dragon, rescuing her from black and enormous claws.

"Hmm?"

"I want you to accompany me to the Room of Requirements tonight, after dinner." He said without giving further explanation.

"I thought it was destroyed when Crabbe-" "Yes, well something like that." He said cutting her, "If you're looking to hide something, it will present itself as the room where he unleashed the Fiendfyre, and everything will be burned. But, being a magical room, it should be fine if you're looking for something else. Blaise and I made sure of that." He added after seeing the disbelief on Hermione's face.

"Well then, I don't see a reason not to," Hermione said with a broad smile.

It wasn't until she began walking the corridor on the seventh floor that Hermione started thinking about her visit to the Room of Requirements. She didn't know what she was going to see, nor the time they would spend there, she certainly didn't want to be later than curfew. She reached the stone wall where the room magically presents to the wizard and saw Draco was already waiting for her.

"Don't look so pale Granger, I promise we won't use a great deal of dark magic. Just a tad." He joked winking his eye at her, and without a word, the heavy wooden doors appeared, unaffected by the massive fire they had closed the last time she was there.

"After you, my lady." He said and moved his hand in a gesture indicating her enter first.

She looked at the inside of the room, and she gaped at it with a feeling of awe. She knew the room had the magic to transform itself into anything you needed, but she didn't think it had such powerful magic in it. The Room had magically transformed in an endless prairie, with ponds of crystal water reflecting perfectly the clouds, emerald green grass with diamond-like dew on it, and everywhere she looked she could see spots of a rainbow on the grass, only then realising they were flowers of multiple species and colours. What most impressed her, was the sky. It had the colours lavender and midnight blue meshed, its clouds looking from white to pink, and it was full of stars.

Draco led her into a Willow tree, and behind its large curtains with leaves which reached the ground, she found big cushions and pillows resting on the grass. They lay on the pillows, and with a swift movement of his wand and a non-verbal spell, the massive curtains of the Willow tree opened, and they could see the sky, glittering with glossy starts.

"This is so beautiful… Draco… thank you for bringing me here. I didn't know such place could exist." Hermione said after some comfortable silence between them and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I used to come here in our sixth grade-" He explained. "-when… I couldn't think of repairing the Vanishing Cabinet any more. I came here and hoped to get lost forever in the beauty of this room. I wanted to get away from it. And when I couldn't be with you, I came here and found peace within these endless walls." He reached for her hand, and he brought it to the level of his face, his lips brushing her skin and she closed her eyes.

"I don't know if your levels of cloying increased, but I appreciate very much the fact you took me here." He laughed, and he playfully bit her hand before placing a soft kiss there, making her shiver. It was the same feeling she had days before when she stared at him in their common room watching how he did his Charms essay. The same feeling she felt whenever he kissed or snogged her… _Could it be?_

"Yes." She said without thinking.

"Hmm?" Draco said startled by her sudden response.

"I'm responding to the question you've been asking me almost every day since September. Yes." She said with more determination and looked straight into his-almost-grey eyes.

"You mean-," He said cupping her face with his long pale fingers and she nodded, blushing slightly. He cleared his throat "Hermione, will you be my girlfr-" he was muffled by her lips crashing into his and Draco couldn't be happier in his whole life.

" _My girlfriend_." He whispered into her ear before snogging her like there was no tomorrow.

* * *

It was the day of the ball, and Blaise Zabini couldn't be more nervous in his whole life. He was happy, of course, of bringing Luna with him to the ball, but couldn't help his stomach doing flip backs at the last letter his mother had sent him.

**_I was most pleased to hear you'd already found a partner for the ball. I was on the brink of asking the Greengrasses to arrange you to escort your dear classmate, Daphne or her sister, Astoria. You very well know our friendship with them is important, but I do hope they won't mind you bring someone else to the ball. Nevertheless, having myself an appointment with your new Dark Arts teacher the very same day of your ball, I indeed guess we'll meet. I am rather excited to meet this Lovegood girl you say. And I'm also hoping you made the right decision and that she is as pure as we both are Blaise. I'm also pleased to announce your sister sends her regards from Italy…. _ **

And the letter continued on and on… Blaise re-read the long parchment and felt the back of his hands sweating. He knew Luna was as pure-blooded as he remembered the sky was blue, but he wasn't so sure his mother would be appreciative of her peculiarities, nor with the fact, her father owns _The Quibbler_. As much as Draco's prejudices towards Muggle-Borns and such lessened after the war so did Blaise's. But he knew for a fact his mother's hadn't. So the idea of introducing a potential girlfriend who wasn't only eccentric, but also a blood traitor to his mother's eyes, didn't appeal to him much.

It was the third time he rearranged his tie in front of the mirror, and this seemed to unnerve Draco, for he slapped his hand away when he tried to get rid of the non-existent wrinkles it had. They were in the dorms of the "eight graders" in Slytherin the school provided, not that they would be short of them; after the war, Slytherin was the house with fewer students. They had agreed they would change there; Blaise only had two more other room-mates, so they had two permanent spare beds, making the room very spacious. And Hermione had asked Draco if she and her friends could use the whole of the Head dorms. He'd joked Draco was "henpecked" by Hermione and he looked he was enjoying it very much before he threw a hex at him.

"Don't be a nag, Blaise," Draco said peeking one last time at the mirror. "Granger didn't order me to do anything. I know how much girls take their time and such, so I guessed it wasn't a bad idea -what?" He looked up to see Blaise sniggering.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm just happy to see how much your _girlfriend_ means to you."

"Shove it Zabini, you won't be so brave yourself when your dear mother meets _your_ date tonight, now will you Blaise?" He said, and Blaise scowled.

"Oh fuck off." Said Blaise at last, throwing a dirty sock at Draco's way and smirked when it almost landed on his face.

"Hey!"

They finished grooming themselves, Draco opted for black, elegant robes which make him look gallant and older, and Blaise's clothes resembled Draco's in elegance, but he chose a dark, purple colour instead, accentuating his dark skin.

"C'mon, we better hurry or else…" He said, and they made their way towards the Great Hall.

* * *

"You're making this bigger than it is!" Hermione argued with Ginny, pointing at her whole reflection; meanwhile, the redhead tried to place a silver and glittery clasp in her updo, letting some curls fall at her sides.

"Rubbish! You're going to gleam in the Great Hall tonight with how breathtaking I made you look. Now, if you stop complaining and moving I would have finished ages ago!" Ginny said, putting in place a few curls with her wand that went stray when she put the silver clasp.

"Why couldn't you just iron my hair like yours?" She said at the sleek, glossy and long flaming red hair falling in waterfalls from Ginny's head. "Not that your hair wasn't already _straight_." She muttered the last to herself.

"Iron my hair? What?" She asked appalled, a horrific mental image forming in her head.

"Oh, nevermind. There's a tool Muggles use with heat to make their hair straight or curled." Hermione explained, and Ginny's face contorted sickeningly.

"I wouldn't like to burn my hair to make it curled! Poor Muggles, they can't enjoy the wonders of magic. Besides, I like my hair the wait it is, so no need for that too." She said applying a folly red lipstick.

"Luna, you ready?" Ginny called, and Luna came out from the bathroom, in her customised pink gown wearing curls in a half ponytail style.

"Yes. Hermione, I left some mistletoe in your bathroom, I believe I sensed some nargles near your tub." Luna's expression was so serious, Hermione didn't even attempt to contradict her.

Walking down to the Great Hall alongside Ginny and Luna, Hermione didn't feel as much as in a corny, fluffy fairytale anymore. And she was glad for it. Anyone they passed was dressed in a fashion much like they were, and Hermione was relieved when she saw girls with dresses much more princess-like than the one she wore.

They reached the Great Hall and just before it's doors opened, everybody was waiting anxiously outside with hungry eyes to shine once inside of it. They found Harry near one of the walls and approached him. Ginny half skipped her way where Harry was and practically flew into his arms. "Harry!"

"Ginny! You look…" And he stopped, his green eyes engulfing the whole of her attire. He looked up into her eyes, and she beamed at him, kissing him softly on his left cheek.

"…Beautiful." He finished, putting his arm around her back, Hermione and Luna catching up with them shortly after.

"You look beautiful too," Harry said after they arrived. "Your hair looks nice Hermione." Harry chuckled.

" _Your_ girlfriend not only put an enormous amount of Sleekeazy's potion in it but also charmed it, and I had to stay still for almost two hours!" Hermione moaned pointing at Ginny.

"Hey! It was all for a good cause, wasn't it? It is all part of the charm." She smirked.

"Where is Ron by the way? Wasn't he with you Harry?" Hermione remembered the missing flaming red hair.

"Uhm -he was, but I believe he went looking for his date. Speaking of which, where are yours?" He said signalling both Hermione and Luna.

"Now that you mention it-" But Hermione couldn't finish when she felt long, elegant fingers over her eyes and she turned, only to meet with his eyes.

"There, now you've found your _boyfriend_ ," Draco smirked before his icy blue eyes became engrossed in her.

"B-Boyfriend? Malfoy is _your_ boyfriend?" Harry shrieked. He was the only one in their conversation who had a shocked and appalled look on his face. Ginny, Blaise (who arrived alongside Draco), and Luna merely looked at the pair with knowing eyes.

"Yes, Potter I'm her boyfriend. Now, could shut your stuttering, please? I would like to tell my _girlfriend_ how dazzling and enticing she looks tonight." He said, never leaving Hermione's eyes and placed a soft kiss on her left hand. Hermione's cheeks matched the colour of her dress at how chivalrous Draco was being and the fact she had four pairs of eyes looking at them.

"We must approach the doors, they're on the brink of opening. I believe we had caused too much embarrassment for Hermione already." Luna said bluntly, and it only made Hermione blush a deeper shade of pink, who knew she owned yet another explanation to Harry as of why everybody knew before him. She took Draco's offering arm, and like the many other students, entered the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was decorated almost identically to the way they had in the Yule Ball four years ago. The walls and the floor were all icy white, there were tables with black, red and silver tablecloths with silver and white plates on them. The tables were placed around the corners, leaving ample space for students to dance, there was also a table with many, and there was a small glass fountain with a red plum punch in it. Hermione noted the ceiling was different from last time, it seemed endless with a foggy white view, and it was enchanted, so it looked like it was snowing. The other big difference catching her eye was that the ball was only comprised of Hogwarts' students and staff. Hermione certainly missed the lovely view of fellow students of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons mixing themselves with everybody but felt happy anyways with the fact even the youngest students were able to enjoy the night, dressed formally in their gowns.

Hermione and Draco made their way, along with Blaise and Luna, to one of the tables, Draco silently thanking they were the only ones seating in there. Many regarded the strange combination of houses, sitting as couples in a single table, oddly, so aside from Harry and Ginny, they didn't have to talk to many people. _Maybe not many people would think to approach us, but that doesn't stop them from whispering behind our backs!_ Hermione thought furiously as she turned her head and found a couple of Ravenclaw girls blushing at her sight and abruptly turned their heads away.

"Blaise, you seem nervous, is something bothering you?" Hermione commented, looking at Blaise, who wouldn't stop looking at the Great Hall doors and was fidgeting his fork between his hands unconsciously.

"I've already asked him, but he won't tell. I'm suspicious though, there might be someone coming he doesn't want to greet." Luna said to Hermione. Meanwhile, Blaise looked distracted enough to have listened to a word she said.

"You might be downright correct Luna," Draco said sitting at the side of Hermione, placing a cup with a reddish drink in it in front of her, Luna and Blaise with his wand. "Cheers." He said, and they clanked their goblets and drank from them, Luna giving a nudge in the ribs at Blaise, snapping him out of his trance, and he proceeded to drink too.

"Draco is this Sherry?" Hermione said horrified after she gave her drink a sip, motioning with her hand at Luna, to stop drinking hers too.

"Don't lose your knickers on that Granger, I was going to bring Firewhiskey, but it's far too early in the night for that just yet. Maybe in a couple of hours." He smirked, taking a sip from his cup.

"Not only are we head students, but we are in a _school_. We should do nothing but be role models to younger students." She hissed at him in a disapproving way.

"As I said, don't fret. McGonagall approved this, everyone from seventeen and up can drink any beverage there is served. She jinxed all the spirits for anyone underage trying to drink them; it would taste like salty water to them. And I made sure to ask permission if _we_ could drink it, Granger. She said it was fine, as long as we keep ourselves decent and don't get drunk." He said before she could further complain. "Trelawney surely seemed euphoric when she saw the Sherry on the table." He added.

"Well, if Professor McGonagall said it was fine, then I guess a little Sherry won't do any harm." She said with a small smile, tasting the vinous flavour from her goblet. After some chatting and light drinking, the couples like many others stood up to dance on the "dance floor" now being filled with students and staff.

Hermione's actions became stiffer and stiffer as they got close to everybody else. She felt her heart hammering in her chest, and her legs felt all wobbly. It was a form of dismay and panic she had never felt before. The faces of the students near her became blurry, and all she could see was piercing obsidian eyes and a curtain of black hair. Her breathing became shallower and before she could faint Draco shook her.

"Granger, what is it?" He asked her in concern, and she looked at him with her doe-like eyes and slightly shook her head, all colour leaving her face.

Biting her trembling lip, she whispered so quietly only he could hear,

"I… I'm _scared_."

"Granger, don't be nervous. Just look at me and let go." He said grabbing her chin, and her brown eyes met his. A sudden warmth filled her, and she felt the same feeling that had been occupying her heart for the last weeks. She shot him a reassuring smile, and they started to dance when the music started, her eyes never leaving his. With his hand on her lower back, Hermione's stomach filled with butterflies and her cheeks reddened.

She found dancing with Draco was one of the few things made her jubilant. She didn't need to worry about anything or anyone, and she also discovered she wanted nothing more but to kiss his pale pink lips without caring if they were seen. Draco led the way, as she wasn't precisely expertise at dancing, and being raised by a traditionalist pure-blooded family, Draco was taught how to dance the most proper and elegant dances there existed in the Wizarding world. His dance moves seemed effortless but firm. And while his eyes didn't leave hers for a second, he knew where exactly to move, and he was careful not to bump into anyone else. _Viktor's dance moves weren't bad, but I would prefer a million times better to dance with Draco instead of him_ she thought, her broad smile following for what was left of the dance, never leaving her lips.

The song finished and all of them stopped dancing, many couples retreating themselves to their respective tables. Before Hermione moved a muscle, Draco pulled her to him and planted a big fat kiss on her lips. She was surprised at the sudden move but returned his kiss briefly before ending it. There were too much fuzz and noise from the people to notice them, but they didn't get away without a few gasps and exclamations of surprise from the students nearest to them. Hermione thought she didn't care if they saw, not even if Ron did, but she kept her head down with her cheeks burning while they went to their seats, not wanting her eyes to meet black, familiar, accusing ones.

Taking their places, she saw Luna talking with a tall, round-faced brown haired guy in the seats next to her. "Neville!" She exclaimed and hugged him in a very tight hug. "In the six months, almost seven I haven't seen you, I can almost swear you grew half an inch!" She said looking at him. His hair was a little bit longer than she remembered it, and he was dressed in very dark green robes that would pass as black, but in the light, they had an emerald look in them.

"Actually I have! Gran took me shopping because all my pants were too short for me. She said she couldn't believe I'm still growing!"

"It's good to hear!"

From the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Blaise approach their table, worry all over his face, and judging by his demeanour Hermione could tell he was slightly intoxicated.

"Erm -Luna? There's someone I want you to meet…" He muttered to Luna and taking her hand, they walked away, Blaise not even minding Neville was seating at their table. Hermione saw he took her at the other end of the hall where a woman stood, looking around her mid-forties and dressed in rich and luxurious robes and jewellery. Neville also followed the pair with his eyes and let out a sad sigh at the sight of their hands intertwined.

"I wouldn't let my hopes too high now, Longbottom," Draco said in a slightly mocking tone, and giving Hermione a chaste kiss, stood up towards the drink table.

"I… I..." Neville said, clearly bewildered not only at the sight of Luna with Blaise but also at Malfoy kissing Hermione, who was dating Ron. Or at least that was the last thing Neville new about them.

"I… broke up with Ron in September." She explained to him, her cheeks burning a pink colour.

"And what about…?" He said, pointing at Luna and Blaise.

"Oh, I'm sorry Neville." She said patting his back lightly. "They're not together though, but in the past months they have been quite close I believe." She said. She honestly felt sorry for him, knowing how much he cared for Luna.

"It's fine I think. I believe Luna already knew our friendship was more valuable than what it may have been just a fling. Although I never pinned Zabini as someone to take an interest in her, to be honest."

"No one did. But you know what they say, opposites attract."

"Hey is that Professor Snape looking our way?" Neville suddenly said, and Hermione thought better than looking behind her back. "He doesn't seem happy at all…. Do you say it's because I didn't come for this past term? I was at Auror training, but I promised Kingsley I would return to do my N.E.W.T.s, Professor McGonagall told me I could resume classes in January and-" "-Neville." Hermione interrupted. "I believe his sour mood is the consequence of the ball, now that he is a headmaster he must attend; he can't miss it like he did in the Yule Ball. And I also think he wouldn't like if you keep staring at him." She said softly, not daring to look behind her.

"Oh, I guess you're correct."

* * *

The night continued pleasantly enough for Hermione. Draco returned with more drinks, he brought her elf-wine while he drank Firewhiskey, and they continued to chat with Neville. Shortly after, Harry came with Ginny, both with smiles up to their ears and after some time, they saw Ron with a blond Hufflepuff girl at his side. He nodded curtly at Draco and greeted Hermione and Neville before leaving again.

Draco couldn't suppress his laughter at the sight of a smiling Luna and a very pale Blaise after what seemed forever. "I need a drink." He said curtly and left for the drinking table before saying anything else.

"How did you find Mrs Zabini?" Draco asked Luna, clearly amused by the situation.

"Oh, she was quite alright. At first, she acted rudely because of my father owning _The Quibbler_ , and the fact I mentioned I sensed there were wrackspurts around her earrings, but then softened at the fact she told me I must be unique enough to make Blaise drunk because of the nervousness of me meeting her." She said happily.

Further into the night, McGonagall called Harry, Ron, and Hermione to the front of the Hall and gave a little speech about how the ball o anything couldn't be possible if there weren't for them. And of course, also thanked everybody who'd helped in the war, and after a sniff or two, announced the staff would be pleased to have a dance with the students, honouring the loyalty the school had with fellow wizards.

"I believe it's time for our Student-Professor dance. Every single dance Hogwarts has had in history, we have celebrated this dance. And tonight will be no exception." And without further explanation, she motioned the staff to pick a student. She practically shoved Ron towards Professor Sprout, and Hermione to _this can't be_ Professor Snape, as she motioned Harry to dance with her. Before Hermione had time to register what was happening, couples emerged once again to the dance floor, and each teacher seemed to have found a student to dance as well. _I just hope Draco doesn't make a scene out of this._

"I would believe not dancing at this precise moment would be inappropriate don't you think _Miss Granger_?" Snape said coldly, and Hermione finally looked at him, too stunned to realise the music had already started. She returned to her senses and quickly nodded taking his hand in hers, beginning the dance.

Dancing with Professor Snape was very different from Draco. At first, it seemed almost awkward the way he was guiding her along the Hall, but as soon as he became acquaintanced with her moves, his confidence took over, and he began to dance more adamantly and with precision. She realised his hand was gloved and was barely touching her, and in contrast with Draco's hand on her lower back, Snape's was in her mid back. He looked very uncomfortable with it, and Hermione mentally agreed she too, preferred not to have this imperative dance.

"You seemed far too happy tonight with Mr Malfoy " He commented with a snide reproach.

"Yes, as I matter of fact I was." She responded acidly trying to ignore the pain in her hand caused by the sudden tightening of his.

"I see. The meetings that we've been having are to cease I presume?"

"The meetings we've been having have nothing to do with my interpersonal relationships!" She hissed at him. "And you very well know that! I told you before the first one." She said, not quite believing herself.

"You look very lovely tonight if I must say." He said changing the topic and it took her by surprise.

"I… Thank you. You look rather nice too." She said blushing, trying not to look at his piercing eyes.

They danced for what was left of the song in silence, but Hermione noted his movements were softer, and he seemed more relaxed. She didn't know when, but there was a point in the dance where she felt as if they were the only two people dancing in the immense Hall. Hermione dared to look up, and when her eyes met his, she realised she felt the same shivers she'd felt at the Quidditch match when she couldn't take her eyes away from his. The same thing happened to her tonight. She didn't notice when the dance had finished, for she accidentally bumped into a girl at her side. With a very stiff and polite "Thank you for this dance.", Hermione hastily returned to her table and hoped she didn't have to encounter Snape for what was left on the night. But couldn't help the lingering feeling in her stomach she felt; it was a mixture of uneasiness and longing for the dance to have continued on and on…

To her good luck, hours passed, and she was feeling happy again in the company of Draco and the others. She didn't see Ron again and Neville left shortly after midnight, along with the youngest students; meanwhile Blaise left almost at one in the morning, claiming he better return to his dorms before his mother or any of the staff saw him that drunk. He kissed Luna tenderly and walked away, in a somewhat twisted way.

Hermione had already danced until her feet had claimed defeat and preferred to sit back and talk with Draco and Luna. The Great Hall was almost empty by then, some of the teachers remaining (she didn't want to see who was left), and there were some couples slow dancing on the Hall. Harry and Ginny were one of those, utterly besotted with each other, and much like chewing gum, they were dancing so closely you couldn't see the line dividing them.

At two o'clock in the morning, just before Hermione decided to go and get some sleep, a loud noise and a yelp came from the outside. The few students and staff remaining hurriedly left to the windows in the Great Hall to see some of the trees in the Forbidden Forest were clearly crooked and some birds fleeing the scene. It was very dark on the outside, but the form of the trees was so twisted, it was impossible not to see them. McGonagall instructed Professor Flitwick to escort the few students remaining back to their dorms as she, Hagrid, and Professor made their way to the forest. Draco, Hermione, Harry, Ginny and Luna, couldn't help but tag along with the hesitant professors, arguing they had already been in a war and a little incident in the forest was nothing.

One of the things Hermione didn't think before going to the outside was casting a warmth charm. She met the outside of the grounds of the school with an icy and freezing breeze and noted she hadn't been the only one who apparently forgot the cold weather, being in the warmth of the Great Hall. Quickly casting one, they followed the trail where they had heard the yelp and found the big hole in the forbidden forest, with the crooked trees at its sides.

Enormous feet emerged from the trees and soon they were all facing Hagrid's half-brother, Grawp. Getting closer to him they saw the blotches on his feet, and the hole underneath him, and Hermione could decipher the yelp was because most probably Grawp had slipped and fallen, forming a hole in the ground.

"Oy Grawp! What are ye doin' down here? S'all my fault Minerva -I knew the cave was freezing, even for Grawp. I'll take 'em to the spot 'e used to be for the rest o' the winter, And then he'll return to 'is cave." He said reassuringly walking away with Grawp and McGonagall sighed in an annoyed way, clearly displeased to be out of the warmth of the castle for nothing dangerous. The girls also looked displeased for ruining the hems of their dresses with the mud.

"Very well, I advise you all to return to your dorms, I wouldn't like anyone of you to end with a cold. And watch your step, even though there is snow, it is very slippery." She said and quickly returned to the castle.

They started walking out from the edge of the forest before it started snowing again, forgetting about the pale black-haired wizard who walked close to them. Paying more attention to the cold, the snow and mud made Hermione trip over her dress and she fell into the hole once occupied by Grawp.

Letting out an involuntary gasp, she realised her dress had torn off in her neck by a nearby twig. Before she could stand, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap her from behind and looking up, she saw a pair of bright metallic eyes watching over her, the pale skin on his face, turning a shade of faint grey. She felt droplets of blood falling from her neck and she could almost see his eyes widening. _I must have scratched myself with the damn twig. Brilliant._

She barely registered Ginny and Draco's exclamations "Hermione! Are you alright?" when she felt an overpowering and intoxicating smell all over the place. And before Draco could reach to her, she felt sharp, stinging fangs biting her neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do love cliffhangers ;)


	13. A Love Bite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Just wanted to tell you I very much appreciate you're liking this story and all of your comments. Also I wanted to tell you a couple of things about the story,  
> As some of you may have guessed... from this chapter on I think, things will start getting angsty, so please bear with me. And yep, this is a not-so-happy chapter. This has been the most emotional so far and the hardest for me to write yet.  
> Anyway, from what I have in mind for this story, it is going to be a long one, so I hope you'll stick around until the end ;)
> 
> Thank you for your kudos and comments! Oh, and I didn't kill Hedwig
> 
> Please keep reading, leave kudos, and enjoy :)

* * *

 

It was the most pleasurable pain she's ever felt. Peacefulness, lust, happiness, uncertainty. All these feelings and something more she didn't know, hammered inside of her as soon as the razor-sharp fangs pierced her skin.

Her mind and body didn't let her concentrate on just one, there were far too many emotions and feelings for her to think correctly. It was crushing her. Her breathing became shallower, her sight deceived her; she could only see blurring spots and the whiteness of the snow falling at the beginning of the forest. Her hearing and smell sharpened, and she was stunned by the noise level in her surroundings. Meanwhile, she now smelled the fresh, moldy, organic scent of the pine trees and the musky scent of the pheromones now in charge of calming her senses. It was all too much for her to bear. At first, she had felt pain because of the bite actually piercing and entering her flesh. She flinched at it instinctively, but almost immediately after she winced, she welcomed the bite by relaxing her muscles and letting the fangs sink deeper into her flesh. She now felt an icy-hot liquid pass through her veins, and she felt a new wave of magic run through all of her.

It wasn't until she felt a prick in her lips that she began to notice what was happening. She brushed her teeth with her tongue, and when she tasted blood from cutting herself, she knew she had grown fangs. She wanted to bite something, _someone_. The instinct was driving her mad and the midst of her not knowing what was going on, a little window opened, and her rational self-hopped in.

She blinked twice, and her eyes began focusing on the scene. She couldn't figure out the whole of her surroundings, but it was enough for her to glimpse the blurry outline of her friends. There was apparently an invisible force, stopping them from reaching her.

 _ **What** is happening?!_ The little piece of rationality left in her thought.

She began to panic at her sudden urge to bite someone. Who did she want to bite was a cloudy answer, but the mere thought of it made her panic. Her sharp breaths took the little air in her lungs left, making her unable to breathe properly. She looked up to see the obsidian eyes, now brighter than ever, in the man who was holding her with an iron grip, and her eyes widened at the sight of his bloody teeth with his prominent fangs adorning his mouth.

Her hair began releasing bright blue sparks, liberating raw magic and she knew she was having a panic attack. It had happened once before in her life, and she knew how terrifying it was. Just after she had obliviated her parents, fear crawled its way into her, and she had to hide behind one of the big bushes of her neighbourhood until the panic had subdued. It had left her emotionally drained for two days, and the bush itself was left with its leaves all from different colours and shapes and the grass frozen in a sunny day of summer.

What she was feeling now was pretty close to that time, but the pheromones in the air mellowed her panic and fear a bit.

Before her body could shut down entirely, she reached for a tree branch, and the branch along with the whole tree froze like an ice stalactite. The release of magic helped her a bit to calm down the hysteria slowly rising in her blood, but the feeling of having lost control over anything resided still within her.

"D-Draco… S… Severus.. help..." She whispered to the forest with the minimal energy she had left and felt the sudden pressing feeling of being apparated before she succumbed to darkness.

* * *

He was feeling _alive_. It was as if he has just been born after decades of being a living corpse waiting for resurrection. Her blood and the luscious scent had tasted heavenly, every cell in his body fired up at the taste and touch of the crimson elixir.

Severus could hear the now peaceful breathing of his mate across the stone wall. He'd apparated them into his chambers of Hogwarts, and as soon as they arrived, he used his occlumency to shut down his mind and put the unconscious Hermione safely on his bed, and after casting a quick _Scourgify_ on her neck, he shut himself out of the room before anything disastrous could happen. He drowned himself with every single calming draught he had in hand and proceeded to cast every single ward and protection spell he knew to keep himself out of the room where Hermione was. At least until he'd calmed down.

It wasn't the first time he'd lost control of the situation. But it was the first time where his actions would leave a permanent mark. A worrisome one.

He hadn't meant to bite her, not at all. He wanted her full consent before he could even _touch_ her. _Not that I already broke the rules with that one,_ he sourly, though. But still, biting her only put her in a decisive position. He was sure she wanted to bite him as well, but he was also confident her decision-making back in the forest was heavily influenced by his pheromones. The exact same pheromones he was now using to calm his mate and make sure she wouldn't fall again in the panic attack she was having. _Panic and magic don't get along when fused together inside of her._ He made a mental note to release his pheromones whenever he felt she was beginning to panic. Now that it was easier to handle his pheromones he could direct them, to an extent, towards which emotions he wanted to release. _Of course, I could've mastered them already is she'd also bit me…_

He shook his head, at how desperate his thoughts were becoming. A loud crash came from the adjacent room, and he soon felt an iring wave of uncertainty and fear, closely followed by annoyance. _She must have woken up._ The doorknob made loud noises, trying to be opened, and the door received heavy bangings.

"I demand you let me out this instant!" Cried the exasperated voice of the witch. He assured himself of having taken at least two veela potions before he removed the spells separating them, and opened the door only to see a fuming witch standing fearlessly in front of him.

Her hair was now half undone, with wild curls dancing everywhere near her head. The hem of her dress at her feet was muddy and wrinkled, and the fabric of her neck was torn. He noticed, although now clean, two fang marks deeply impressed in the burning, horribly visible sore spot on her fair skin.

"Where is my wand?" Was the first thing she asked after stepping out of his bedroom.

"I understand how distraught you must be feeling right now. I don't blame you for anything that's happened, and I apologise for my behaviour these past weeks as well as the critical position I've put you in. And your wand is in my table, it put it there for safety purposes. You can take it." He said somberly, looking sideways, trying to avoid her bright eyes.

"Fangs! I had _fangs_!" She exclaimed, feeling her teeth, verifying they were normal again. "And don't try using your pheromones on me, Severus Snape! I know damn well what you're attempting to do -and let me tell you- It's not going to work! It's not only disrespectful but also it is abusive of you to _release_ your pheromones to make me feel as you please!" She spat. It was mere moments after her outburst that she seemed more serene. Her flushed cheeks and ragged breaths decreased, and she closed her eyes, cooling herself down.

She opened them after a moment. "Stop it. I don't like being manipulated with." She said in a more composed tone than before.

"I'm not manipulating you. I can't really help the pheromones, but I can somehow transmit them in a way to ensure your tranquillity and peace." He said in a tense voice. And stopped for a moment before continuing, "If a veela senses that its mate is in a position of distress or danger, it will do anything to ensure they are safe and content. That being said, I can only hope you never have to suffer any situation like that in the future." He said, and she looked up at him with a frown on her face.

"Why… why is it I can somehow _sense_ what you are feeling?" She asked in the most anxious and fearful expression he's ever seen on her.

"Because of this." Sadness enfolded his words just as his index finger pointed at her neck, mere inches from touching it. Her hand went up to her neck, and a single tear rolled down her face when her fingertips kissed the fang marks on her neck.

"You already know the bond is not complete until you bite and mate with me. You're mildly attached to me now, so there's still no commitment made. Sensing each other's emotions and feelings when we're close is one of the few differences the mark will make."

They stayed quiet for two full minutes, the thick atmosphere daring them to make a move. She was watching him with a stern face, her bright brown eyes boring deep into his black ones.

"You've noticed the fangs of course." He said softly, his eyes never leaving hers. "What you must probably didn't notice back in the forest were your eyes. They were most probably glossy obsidian too." She lowered her eyes at his statement and found the stone floor was more comforting than the cold, dark eyes piercing through her.

She cleared her throat and spoke, "I should get going. They must probably wonder where I am." She said frostily brushing past him and reached for the door.

"How… how did you manage to apparate us? This is Hogwarts…" She said to him in a small voice stopping her track and without turning her back; her head was sideways and her eyes looking down.

"Being a headmaster has its benefits," He said softly "…Hermione."

Her body visibly became stiff at the sound of her first name on his lips, and without saying more, she took her wand from the table and strode off from his cold chambers.

He didn't know how many hours he'd been standing in the bitter and numbing water of his shower, covering his naked body in its frosty totality. It wasn't until he heard his teeth chattering loudly enough to drive him mad that he decided to get out from the gelid waters. His skin had goosebumps and bluish spots all over it, his muscles hardened with bitterness, and his movements were slower than usual. He put his nightgown as slowly as he got out of the shower, and he sat at the end of his languid bed; the very same bed where Hermione Granger was lying hours before.

With ragged, quick breaths, he snatched his bed covers greedily and buried his face so deep within them it was hard for him to breathe. He didn't care. The intoxicating, and engulfing scent filled his nostrils, and his mind had a drowsing moment with the little taste of his mate his dowdy sheets provided. He sat there in complete darkness, his face still buried deep in the blankets, and his knuckles white from the hard grip he had on them.

 _I can only hope as much as this heavenly pleasure from her, to satisfy the burning desire I have, for mere moments…_ He thought miserably as the vanilla perfume lingering on his sheets was fading slowly, away from his mind and senses. _More… I need… **long** … for more…_ The decrepit thought also faded away, along with the long lost hope of ever finding happiness again.

_It's over now; I've lost her… forever._

And for the first time in seventeen years, Severus Snape wept.

* * *

"Draco it's fine now, I've everything packed. Now that I'm living with Harry, I did a little shopping back in summer, and I got enough clothes for the holidays." She said taking a blouse from Draco's hands and putting it back into her drawer, she quickly closed her trunk before he could deposit more garments in it. "Besides, if I'm short on clothing, I can always _buy_ more." She said stepping in front of him, and with a crooked smile, she gave him a peck on the lips.

"Granger, it's not fair! Why can't I pamper my girlfriend with endless amounts of gifts and clothing?" Draco said after the eleventh time Hermione turned down his wish to buy her a thousand galleons worth of clothing and jewellery.

" _Because_ not only it's highly inappropriate, but also I would rather you spend it in a more valuable and honest way. For example, you could give it to St. Mungo's or charity."

"But that's no fun." He said pouting like a child who wasn't allowed any candy. "It's not my fault it's a pure-blood tradition for a wizard to engulf and spoil the witch whom they are courting with an exorbitant amount of gifts. And even more so in holiday season." She laughed as she hit him with a pillow. "Well _I'm_ not pure blooded, so your tradition can make an exception with me."

"As long as I can have you with me." He said hugging her heartily. Meanwhile, his wild eyes found the dress, beautiful only for a brief time, which hung on one of her wardrobe's doors.

"What will you do with it?" He said after their embrace, pointing at the dress. She sighed. The dress in the whole didn't look that bad, but if you looked close, it showed the torn material visibly on the neck, fully exposing it. Her hand unconsciously went up to the spot he had bitten her, fully covered by her violet turtleneck jumper, and couldn't stop her eyes from watering.

Draco made sure the whole ordeal seemed ages ago when in reality, the ball had been just the day before. She had returned hastily to their dorms and sent her Patronus to the others, promising she was well, and she needed rest. Draco, of course, didn't wait before she slept and asked her what _actually_ had happened. With glassy eyes, and fat tears covering her blushing cheeks, she showed him the bite marks and assured him there was no commitment with just that bite, so there wasn't a reason to worry yet. After he finally calmed down and promised he wouldn't give a piece of his mind to his godfather, he made sure to distract her mind from what's happened, and helped her pack her trunk for the holidays.

Finally feeling composed, Hermione realised she'd acted harsher than she'd intended to. In fact, she now felt incredibly guilty for yelling at Severus and make him feel remorseful about biting her. _It wasn't really his fault_ she thought, _it's only nature after all..._ she also knew they were both feeling miserable when she said those things to him. But back then, she felt her mind and soul were two different entities. She never wanted to yell at him, and she knew she wanted the moment to go on and on, but her emotions betrayed her mind, and she couldn't help feel torn.

"I don't know." She said after a pregnant pause. "It was such a charming dress, and it would be a waste to trash it. But my sanity is more important than just a pretty dress with torn fabric."

"Don't worry about it. There are plenty of beautiful dresses I can buy you later." He said affectionately, and without saying more, the dress vanished into nothingness. They stood there, their eyes glued to the empty spot the dress used to occupy, and jumped at the sound of a knocking on their chamber's door.

"It's probably Harry." She said absently

"I'll go get it then. Do you want me to tell him to go away?" He said, and she shook her head.

"It's okay. I think it's time to face the show."

* * *

They all stood in the train station of Hogsmeade waiting for the Hogwarts Express to depart, many students were saying their temporary goodbyes to their friends, and some were doing last-minute Christmas shopping. Draco had his arm around Hermione's shoulders, waiting for their friends to arrive.

"You promise you'll write to me?" She said to him.

"Only if you promise to come to our annual New Year's dinner." He said and laughed when he saw the look of a deer caught in the headlights in her face.

"B-But…"

"Mother already knows about you, and I can assure you she's delighted to meet you. And my father… he knows that if he steps even an inch out of line, he's back in Azkaban, so there's no need to worry. There's going to be Aurors there." He added at the end after seeing her expression full of doubt.

"Wasn't your family hosting a Christmas banquet?"

"Yes." He chuckled. "Mother is very insistent with parties every holiday. And even more this year now that the war is finally over; she can finally do whatever she wants without Voldemort's "permission"."

Harry and Ginny arrived alongside Ron, who was the only one utterly oblivious about Hermione's current situation. It had been hard for her to explain both Harry and Ginny her "secret admirer" was a veela. After reviving their memories of the D.A.D.A class where they've seen them, she explained the general outline of what a veela was, and how being a quarter veela was different from a full blooded one. It was even harder to tell them both (after recovering from their initial shock when they found out she was a ¼ veela's mate), the veela was none other than Severus Snape. Hermione mentally thanked Luna when she feigned shock about her confession and was grateful both Ginny and Harry were few of the most trustworthy people she's ever met. She knew her secret was safe with them.

Showing them her fang marks, buried deep within her skin was another story. Yes, Harry was her best friend, and she trusted him with her soul, but his temper betrayed him when he threatened to go after Snape and personally give him a piece of his mind. Hermione was grateful Draco kept calming draughts in his dorm; they helped Harry rationalise much better her situation.

After almost two hours of trying to stop him from going and hexing Snape, he promised Hermione he wouldn't do it unless she asked him, and promised too, he'll be with her throughout the whole thing and accept whatever her decision she made. Ginny, on the other hand, took things surprisingly well. After the initial outburst and immediate questions, she became rather quiet and just spoke to reassure Hermione of her loyalty and her support. But Hermione couldn't help but feel Ginny just kept staring at her with sadness beyond the imaginable. She probably understood the heartbreaking situation she was in.

"Hey, guys." She greeted at them weakly as they approached them. "I'll be with Draco in the head compartments for the majority of the journey. You go ahead." She said with a feeble smile.

"See you in a bit Hermione," Harry said, and they joined the train.

The journey home had a bittersweet taste for Hermione's opinion. The trees, lakes, and roads they passed were dull and melancholic, just like her mood. She already knew this was going to be her second Christmas without knowing anything from her parents, but past events from this year threw a bigger dagger into her chest. _At least I know they are safe… The end of their lives doesn't depend on me._ She cynically thought.

There was a soft knock on their compartment's window and saw Harry opening their door softly.

"May I come in?"

"Sure Harry, take a seat." She said gesturing the seat in front of her.

"I believe my time as a third wheel has come. I'll go and bother Blaise and Luna for a bit." Said Draco standing up, and after a chaste kiss on Hermione's lips, he exited the compartment.

They were silent a good forty minutes. Harry watched his best friend looking absently at the window, her eyes flashing up momentarily at the passing birds in the fields. It was true what she'd said about the veela thingy doing her physical changes. Her hair looked shinier, her skin was glowing with a rosy, healthy tone, and the dark circles around her eyes were almost gone. She looked healthy and happy to virtually any sight that would see her. But only the ones who really knew her knew she looked broken and worn out. Even though physically she may look healthy, the deep absent look she had in her eyes, the sombre demeanour she carried, along with her almost monotone voice, made her lose the brightness and healthiness the veela venom had provided her two days before.

They arrived at King's Cross late in the night, and Harry went to greet the Weasleys while Hermione stayed to say goodbye to Draco. He could see the hesitation in her conduct when she greeted Mrs Weasley. She'd naturally found out about her break up with Ron, and although she still gave her a welcoming hug, Harry wasn't so sure she would be as enthusiastic to have her over Christmas if it weren't she'd already agreed before the term had started.

After the Weasleys had left, a few people remained in the platform alongside Harry and Hermione.

"Harry," She said putting her hand on his shoulder. "Let's go home."

* * *

Arriving at Grimmauld Place brought in a wave of memories for both Hermione and Harry. The house still being quite old, dark and empty, now had a friendlier air than years before. Yes, there was still a great deal of cleaning to do, but the house looked less and less like the property of an ancient pure-blooded supremacist family, and more like a place both Harry and Hermione could find peace in it, at least for a while.

They'd spent the first two days cleaning the house and redecorating their respective rooms. Kreacher would sometimes appear and rarely was in the mood to do anything more than sweeping the floor. Harry had told him he would serve Hogwarts as long as Harry stayed there, and under the influence of Hermione, gave him two weeks worth of vacations on holidays. Both Harry and Hermione could sometimes hear the yelling and trashing of Kreacher in the attic since the moment they'd arrived. He'd felt deeply betrayed and resentful towards them when he'd found his mistress' portrait along with many others, were hoarded in the attic back in the summer. He was slowly becoming to understand Harry was his new master, and that meant accepting everything he'd been taught to despise.

Hermione spent the days confined in her room, in the drawing room studying for her N.E.W.T.s or reading new books she would find in the small library. She didn't eat much and had already written Draco seven times in the mere three days of their stay (Hedwig had started to avoid her), all at the same time she tried to forget all about Severus Snape.

It was becoming very difficult not to, not only because of the fang marks she had to see every damn day but also because of the haunting dreams plaguing her mind at nights. What most scared her wasn't the fact she felt repulsed or compelled by the dreams. But the exact same opposite. Worst of it all was the fact her dreams mostly included Draco and Severus. The truth was, she didn't want to forget Severus Snape, not even a little. _I might just throw myself out of the window now that nobody is watching and get over with it,_ She dreamily thought while looking outside her window. On the night of Christmas Eve, Harry visited her room carrying a large tray full of food.

"Harry!" She exclaimed at the sight of the wizard trying to get past through her door,"What is all of this? We'd already dinner! I thought I made enough, are you still hungry?" She said helping him carry the tray, concerned her poor cooking skills, both magical and Muggle, had somehow poisoned Harry. Even though both knew almost nothing about it, when cooking, they always took turns and it was Hermione's turn to cook for Christmas Eve. _I hope the mushroom soup wasn't too salty…_

"This is for you 'Mione." He said putting the tray on the little table beside her bed, motioning for her to sit on the chair. When she didn't, he further explained. "Hermione I know you, and I also happen to know how depression looks like. Now sit."

"I'm not depressed. What are you talking about?" She said in an offended tone, and he sighed.

"Yeah right, and Malfoy is a Muggle-Born. Hermione, please eat something. The fact that you sit and keep me company while I'm eating doesn't mean you're eating too. I could almost swear the jumper you're wearing right now wasn't too big for you a few weeks ago." He said and motioned her to sit again.

After some reluctant nibblings on her re-heated mushroom soup and a scone with pumpkin butter, Hermione felt her throat being closed to anything but liquids. Gulping all of her tea she finally felt she had enough food for one day. "Harry I appreciate your effort, but I sincerely can't eat anything else. I'm just not feeling hungry."

"You know Mrs Weasley might just stuff you like a turkey tomorrow if she sees you like this you know?" He said, and she let out a humourless laugh. "I seriously doubt it. I don't believe she cares too much for me after I "broke" her dear son's heart." She said, and Harry laughed.

"I don't think so. Yeah, maybe she'd hoped for you to become the perfect wife for Ron, but she also knows you're a good person, and you had a good reason for it." He said taking the leftovers of Hermione's bread and popped it into his mouth.

"I'm not so sure about coming tomorrow, though. I do want to see everybody, but I don't know if there will be too much Weasley pressure to handle." She said tossing him a napkin.

"I'll tell you what." He said in between his chewing. "If you don't feel comfortable enough, we can go and have our own special Christmas dinner elsewhere."

"That doesn't sound too bad actually. But no. As much uncomfortable I might feel, it's not the end of the world, and I want to have the Weasleys as a "family" for the rest of my life. We can't all dwell on the past." She said and sighed. In the mild darkness of her room, a wave of colours erupted from her opened window, and flashing colours illuminated the pale faces of them both.

"I wouldn't have expected fireworks in Christmas Eve." Blurted Harry after some silence.

"Well, it's London after all. You always get to see a little bit of everything in the big cities." She said with a small smile.

Moments of silence passed through the wizards as they saw the flashing of colours the fireworks made. Crookshanks jumped into Hermione's lap to have too, a better view of the fireworks. It was surprising how he seemed unfazed with the sound and light the fireworks made. For a moment, Harry saw his best friend's pale face filled with flashes of light. She had a ponytail, and her pyjamas and jumper left her bite marks uncovered, brightly visible in the moonlight. It was the first time he'd seen them since the day after the ball. _If she'd known I would come at this hour to her room, I bet she would've covered it with a scarf or something,_ he thought, realising how much pressure she must've been feeling over the situation.

"…I'm scared." She said suddenly after minutes had passed between them, too entranced by the fireworks to have noticed the time. He looked up at her and saw her eyes full of sorrow and guilt.

"Have you written to Malf -I mean Draco?" He said, and she nodded. As much as Harry wanted to help Hermione, he knew he couldn't intervene in her love life. If she decided to stay with either of them, Harry didn't have a vote in the decision. All he could do was support her, and help her at times like this when he feared she would starve to death.

"He insists I attend their New Year's party. Says his mother is "thrilled" to meet me and promises she never said a single bad word about me back then." She said and took out the invitation from one of her drawers, handing it over to Harry. The envelope, as well as the letter, were written in a pale, grey paper, with thick black ink on it. The invitation was as formal as the letter from Hogwarts, but it had a small touch that made it look more personal, and the envelope had the Malfoy emblem on the seal, coloured with black wax.

"I haven't responded yet. I wanted to ask you first what were your plans for New Year." She said wistfully while Harry read the invitation.

"You should go." He said looking up. "I could just spend the day at the Burrow, I don't think there would be a problem. Besides, he is your boyfriend. And if he goes as far as telling his mother about you and sending you this formal letter, the more reason to go." He finished, and she meekly nodded.

"But right now I don't want to make decisions. I just want to enjoy the fireworks with my cat and my best friend." She said, and they lay in her bed, to have a better and more comfortable view.

"How long for Mrs Malfoy to bring up your break up with Ron?" He said after a few silent moments of content.

_"Harry!"_

* * *

Dinner at the Burrow was just as uncomfortable as Hermione had predicted. Or at least the first minutes after their arrival. Harry went and greeted everyone, and in a blink of an eye, Hermione saw he and Ginny had mysteriously disappeared from eyesight.

With a sigh, she stood awkwardly at the side of the fireplace, wondering if she should greet Ron first, but thankfully, Ron wiped away that concern. "Bill and Fleur are on their way. The twins will arrive just before we start dinner, they told us they were crammed with business today. Charlie, well you know he returned to Romania, Percy is most likely to come, but you know how he is, " _The Minister is such a blah blah blah…_ ". And mum said Remus should be coming too, with Teddy." Ron said with a sympathetic smile while greeting Hermione. She was grateful for his heart-warming welcome might just persuade Molly not to poison her share of butterbeer tonight.

As Ron said, Bill and Fleur arrived mere moments after Harry and Hermione did, breaking up the slight tension formed before.

"Oh 'Ermione, you 'ave such a beautiful sweater!" Fleur said after they all had sat down in the living room, while Mrs Weasley checked the dinner. "Thanks." Hermione smiled politely looking down at her oversized grey turtleneck jumper, hiding the fang marks her neck had. The day after they'd arrived at Grimmauld Place, Hermione practically ran to the nearest shop to buy clothing that would hide her neck at all costs, mostly turtlenecks and scarves. She decided she wouldn't use any glamour or charm on her skin until the weather warmed. After dinner, Remus and Teddy came, and the conversation deviated from the new Ministry managements to the adorable toddler with whose hair kept changing colours.

"We just came from Andromeda's," Remus said, handing Teddy to Hermione, "We couldn't stop his hair from changing colours even though she had removed anything at sight with bright likes to imitate the colours at his view you see. Just seconds ago his hair had the colour of a candy cane." He chuckled at his son, who had now his hair and eyes a matching auburn colour.

"Teddy you're so big! I can't believe how much you've grown!" Hermione exclaimed at the infant in her arms. "How long has it been?" She said looking up at Remus, ignoring the concern plastered on his face when he looked at her, "I think that is has been since August that I haven't seen this lovely face." She said tickling Teddy's tummy, who grinned back with a mouth full of white caps and small teeth.

"You sure like children 'Ermione. 'ow long we'll have to wait for yours?" Fleur said, without realising the stiff positions Harry, Ginny and Hermione and Remus took when they heard her.

"I… I do like children yes." She said caressing Teddy's hand. "But I'm not sure I'm ready for them just yet. First I want settle down and have a stable position at the Ministry to support a family, and then I'll think about it." She said with a nervous laugh, not daring to look at Molly.

"Harry, Ron," said Remus, breaking the tension "I wanted to speak to you about the Auror training. I know I promised you we would start in November, but some things came up. But I wanted first a word with Hermione." He said, and she looked up, surprised. "I have the information you asked about the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures." He said and looked at her with a face that said just-go-with-it.

"Uh, yes sure." She said, and they made their way to the kitchen while the others stayed in the living room.

After putting some silencing spells, he motioned Hermione to sit. _What is this about?_

"How's your neck?" He asked catching her off guard, and her blood froze.

"Um, Excuse me?" She posed in a high pitch tone.

"Hermione _I know._ You have his scent all over you." She felt like fainting, and he continued. "We werewolves have heightened scent as you already know. And well, that ability helps us too when there are any vampires or giants near. We can smell them; some magical creatures release a particular type of scent. Even humans have a specific kind of smell. Vampires have their own, giants, werewolves and well… veelas too." She couldn't speak, she couldn't _breathe_. The air from her lungs had long gone ago.

"He has bitten you hasn't he?" He said, and she nodded, crystal clear tears falling from her eyes. She stood up and walked closer to him, revealing her neck with the white marks the fangs left.

"I… at first I didn't know what he was," Remus said after gaping at her neck. "I knew he wasn't entirely human, but back then we were children and I didn't give it enough importance, although I certainly remembered the smell. Then I remembered how Fleur had smelled the first time I met her. But after the war, his scent was different. I saw him in October, and after that meeting, I put myself to investigate because he smelled different from what I've smelled before. Only then I realised he was a veela or at least partially one. I also knew he smelled different from before and far different from Fleur because not only was his blood active, but he'd found his mate.

"It was only then, at our meeting weeks ago, that I realised you were his mate. _Merlin_ his pheromones stank out the entire pub. And the way he was looking at you… Well after that, I didn't want to intervene because I know how Severus is, but when I saw you tonight… veela venom leaves its owners essence on the bite for a few days. I only guessed what must've had happened. I also guess you haven't returned the bite or else... well I figure you wouldn't even be here in the first place." He looked at her sadly, and she nodded at his story. At the truthiness, his words spoke.

"I'm sorry Hermione." He said at last, and she hugged him, wincing at the little and only comfort anyone could give her concerning her condition.

"I don't know what to do." She said at last. "I'm very in love with Draco, but there's like a force pulling me down and making me have… thoughts I would never dream of having concerning Professor Snape. It scares me so. It scares me that part of me feels repulsed by the idea and part of me actually wants it." She said biting her lip.

"I can only help with the little knowledge I know about the situation. One thing's for sure; you're fighting against nature here Hermione." He said, and her face whitened and contorted in horror. "Don't get me wrong, humankind has always fought against it, but what I meant was the reason you feel torn about it. Part of you wants it because that's "nature". Now, the rational part, the logic, feels repulsed because it is probable that your mind is dominant over your hormones or emotions. And that isn't bad either. It's a question for you to decide." He said, and they heard a soft knocking on the door.

"Are you done yet?" Came the voice of Ron from the other side of the door. "I'm dying for some mince pies, and I don't want them to get cold."

"We better hurry or Ron's mince pies will get cold." He grinned and stood up. "I believe it is better if you speak with Fleur; her veela blood may be dormant, but she still has veela parentage. It should be good for you."

"Thanks, Professor."

"And for the thousand time, please call me Remus or at least, Lupin." He said smiling.

"Sorry, it was out of habit." She said and returned only a ghost of his smile.

* * *

The holidays continued for the most of them peacefully. Harry and Hermione returned to Grimmauld Place on the morning of the 26th, both too drunk to be able to apparate, and decided to spend the day out instead of staying in the house. Over the next few days, Harry visited the Burrow, and while he insisted Hermione to come too, she stayed back with the excuse she needed to review her notes, and she needed a dress for the party at the Malfoy's. He knew she was showing signs of depression, but she denied so, arguing she was just tired. He stayed with her as much as he could, making her company and before they departed for their respective New Year's celebrations, they had shared the whole day.

"If you need anything, just escape to the nearest floo, send me a patronus, and I'll be there." He said kissing her forehead.

"Harry I'll be _fine_. You should be the one worrying. I bet Molly Weasley will spare no time into ambushing you with questions about marriage." She said smiling at him.

"I'm not concerned about it, but I would her to ask _after_ we've graduated." He said.

"Bye, Harry."

"Bye, Hermione," He said, and with a crack, he apparated to the Burrow. She sighed and made her way to their fireplace. In contrast with the Christmas ball, she hoped her simple silver grey satin dress didn't pass as something too casual. _At least is a long dress..._ She wore her hair down, and with an immense amount of magic she made it cover up entirely her bite marks, she also glamoured the skin just in case.

 _I just hope I enjoy this night_ she thought and with another visible sigh she said, at last, throwing the floo powder into the green fire, "Malfoy Manor!" and she disappeared into the green flames.


	14. First and second impressions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you're linking the story so far ;)  
> Thank you all for your comments and kudos, they're very much appreciated <3
> 
> P.S. For any of you who likes or has seen the anime 'Vampire Knight', if you remember the ball scene, then you'll know where did I get the idea from ;), and more less picture what I intended here hahaha
> 
> Anyway, enjoy and keep reading!

* * *

 

"I must say, this red champagne tastes much better than any of the drinks I was served at the Christmas party one of Kasper's clients held," Pansy said, drinking from her cherry red champagne glass.

"What did you expect? I'm a Malfoy." Draco answered, flashing a white smile.

"Yeah well, you're a Malfoy alright. A Malfoy who seems to have _only_ good taste in drinks." She scoffed, and he scowled at her. She looked at him from head to toe and then added, "And clothes. I'll give you that too." She darkly smirked. "Keep up the snide comments, and you'll end up leaving your company for the night alone. I don't know how your boyfriend stands you." Draco retorted, returning the dark smirk.

"You don't need to be a meanie!" She said with a pout. "Besides, I can hardly agree with you." She stated in a sickly-sweet tone and flicking her hair, she motioned Draco to hold her drink. Disproving his past statement, she walked to the closest man and openly flirted with him using only using body language. Draco looked at her incredulously at how easily she had the man wrapped around her finger and doing it so without the woman at his side noticing.

 _She knows as well as I do, how easy is for us both to have anyone begging at their feet within the first seconds of conversation…_ he merrily thought. _Of course, everyone except Granger that is._ He knew the stubborn and witty brain of hers knew better than to fall for his antics. It was one of the reasons he was so smitten with her.

"Just as easy as that," Pansy said, snapping him off his thoughts, grabbing her drink back. The man was looking very flustered and drank up his glass in a single gulp. "Now, you were saying I'm going to get lonely tonight?"

"That wasn't my point." He said raising his index up. "Speaking of which, where is your boyfriend? I love the Slytherin attitude, but if he came with you all the way from France, I think he would like to be with you."

"Not really. I mean, yes the sex is excellent," Pansy said rolling her eyes ", and we both benefit from one another in many ways with this relationship, but Kasper doesn't mind me flirting with other guys. It turns him on actually, the way I can quickly make men all worked up and know I'm only his. It's all part of the charm." She said winking at Draco.

Draco had to admit Pansy was a magnificent looking woman, and she knew it. She had full heart-shaped pink lips that many would envy, a small upturned button nose placed perfectly between her oval cheekbones, and her bright green eyes, contrasting exquisitely with her straight, dark chocolate hair and milky white skin. And just as Draco, she knew what her strengths were, and she used them to her advantage. Wearing a long, black, strapless tight dress (which accentuated her curves), with black high heels and cherry blossom pink nail polish, almost every man would drool at the sight of her.

He was glad he wasn't one of those men. He never was. He recognised that although his best friend was the dreamy type of girl, Granger had somehow taught him how to look past the visual aspects of a person and look deeper into it. She'd mentioned him countless of times the theory of the "shadow world" a Muggle philosopher, Plato said. _"You have to look past all of the physical and false aspects. Only then, you'll reach true happiness."_ He remembered Granger saying it whenever he showed off to her a new garment or jewellery his mother had gotten him. And it was true. It was on his fifth year when he began to notice that it didn't matter how many times he would snog and shag with Pansy or any other girl, he always had an empty feeling at the end. He began thinking more and more in the words of Hermione Granger, and he realised why his relationships lasted no more than three weeks each. He may have been physically content, but the girls he dated always left him with the desire of intellect. Even Pansy. Sure, she's his best friend, but he had to admit, as much as she is good looking, she preferred talking about shoes than books. And that annoyed him. Is not that she wasn't smart because boy if she wanted, she was cunning as hell; she could've gotten seven outstandings or more in her exams, but it just wasn't her thing. She knew she was smart, but her mind preferred and dwelled in a more materialistic world.

_Thank Gods Hermione isn't like that._

"Hey! Are you even listening to me? I asked you when will your _Muggle-Born_ girlfriend arrive!" Pansy said exasperated, having asked two times for the same thing already.

"I got it the first time Pansy," He snapped ", and I told her to come at eight."

"Does your mother approve?" She asked darkly, and he rolled his eyes.

" _Yes,_ Pansy she does. She doesn't mind she's not pure-blooded, after everything we've been through, she wants to see me happy. Guess she doesn't want me to turn like my father." He said, muttering the last part to himself.

"You can always contact me if something goes wrong you know," She said slyly, and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"How many times must I say I don't need nor want your "matchmaking skills"? I appreciate the thought Pansy, but if anything goes wrong with Granger, which I highly _doubt_ it, I think I can get a date by myself." He said and motioned Blaise, who'd just arrived to come and join them.

"Oh,I know you can. But I'm just saying; I have the contact of some pure-blooded girls who would love dating you. And some of them are French." She said finally and grinned at him with a perfect and white smile.

"Hullo, Pansy! Long time no see." Blaise said, mildly hugging her. "What happened to your boyfriend? I thought you said you had one."

"Oh, he's here. He didn't waste any time to start talking about business with some of the guests." She said motioning to a crowd in the corner, where a tall blond man with German features, stood.

"You're not going to Japan anymore?" Draco inquired, and Blaise conjured a Firewhiskey from the nearby table.

"There's still the possibility, but if we do go, it won't be until March. Speaking of dates," She said, changing the topic, and looked at Blaise, "it is rather  _odd_ not seeing you with a girl at your side tonight. I remember you next to the Slytherin Prince," She said turning her head to Draco,"to be a ladies man."

"You see, the girl I wanted to have at my side tonight couldn't make it. She went to Ireland with her father. They er -visited her mother." Blaise said uncomfortably.

"He means Luna Lovegood." Draco explained to Pansy, after considering Blaise coward enough to tell Pansy who was his "girl".

" _Lovegood?!_ " Pansy shrieked almost spilling her champagne. "You're dating Loony Lovegood? And I thought your tastes were better than Draco's!" She said, and Draco raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean -I understand she's as pure-blooded as we are, but she's a blood traitor and a _nutter_." She finished, and Draco drank from his glass, suppressing a laugh at how candid Pansy was. Blaise on the other hand, looked like he wanted to hex Pansy.

"Don't. Talk. About. Luna. Like. That." Blaise said with anger plastered on his face. "And we're not dating yet." He added.

"My, aren't we protective? Calm down Zabini, I don't mean any harm. But just as I was saying to Draco, I can't believe you, boys!" She said slapping Draco's arm slightly. "I'm away for seven months and look at what's happened! I come up with perfect girls for you, and look at who you run after with! Seriously," She said with an angry sigh and drank from her glass, before continuing "not even to stop and think about Daphne, Astoria, or even Tracey who were in school with us!"

"What happened to them?" Draco said not really curious, but he just wanted to keep up with the conversation until Hermione arrived.

"Well, Astoria is still with you at Hogwarts, as you should already _know_ ," She said narrowing her eyes at them "Tracey is… I'm not one-hundred per cent sure, but I believe she just married a famous Irish Quidditch player, so she probably lives in Ireland now… And Daphne, well I don't know why she isn't here tonight, but she's in the country. Just as stubborn as Theo, she refused to repeat another year at school or leave her studies unfinished, so she left after the war to Beauxbatons to study for her N.E.W.T.s. She returned in June and did them. Eight Outstandings she got." She said rolling her eyes.

"I even thought about pairing her and Theo together, seeing neither of you would bother and pay attention to her." She said glaring at them " With the brains they both have…Too bad he's in Sweden probably snogging the brains out from some Swedish girl. Ah, maybe when he returns…" She said the last part mostly to herself.

"Just keep Blaise and me out of your matchmaking thingy, please." Draco said.

* * *

Hermione stepped out of an enormous fireplace when she arrived at Malfoy Manor. She Scourgified her attire and saw there was already a house elf waiting for her. _This must be some entrance for guests when arriving by floo_ she mused to herself.

"Master Malfoy is waiting for you Miss, may Vondy escort you to the Ballroom?" the elf said, and Hermione was surprised to see the formality the elf used. _I hope they treat him as well as he speaks._

"Yes, please." She said and followed the elf.

Walking down the Manor, Hermione caught herself in a wave of memories and emotions when they passed next to the drawing room. She could almost see herself and Bellatrix in the room, remembering vividly how the Cruciatus curse had felt. There were times in which she could almost see the word _Mudblood_ scarred into her arm, gone the moment Bellatrix died.

Trying not to flinch, she walked as if nothing had happened there, and she distracted herself with the walls. She saw many portraits on them, some asleep, and the ones awake looked like if their mouths had been zipped with an invisible cord. _If Walburga Black's portrait didn't hesitate for a second to insult me verbally, I'm glad they enchanted the Malfoy ones._ She thought, seeing the indignant and choleric looks some of the portraits gave her, and their contorted expressions trying to open their mouths.

They reached the ballroom, and the moment the elf was gone, the doors opened to reveal one of the most elegant and aristocratic rooms she'd ever seen in her life. The walls were black, adorned with drapes and paintings. On the far end of one wall, just above a pair of big, dark-wooded doors, was the Malfoy emblem. The floor was white marble so shiny and clean, Hermione could see her reflection in it. All the furniture adorned the place and gave it a look of being in the Victorian era; the furniture had all colours varying from black to silver. But what most stunned her, was the enormous crystal chandelier hanging in the exact centre of the room, illuminating the whole ballroom.

She didn't notice the many guests looking at her until she felt Draco's hand softly touching her arm. "I've missed you." He said to her ear, and she smiled at him, but her eyes couldn't help and wander seeing how many of the guests had taken an interest in the new arrival. Admiration, indifference and even disgust were the looks they were giving her. A shiver went down her spine. "Ignore them. Not only there are more than a handful of Aurors here, but many are just surprised to see one of the Golden Trio here." He said, "And you don't need to meet them. Almost all of the guests are for the entertainment of my parents. Sure, I had to present myself to all of them, I may or may not do business with some in the future. But that is over now, and I want you to relax. It's a party after all." He said reassuring her with a warm smile. "You look beyond gorgeous today I must add, they also must be looking at you for being the most beautiful woman here." He said and her cheeks flushed.

They walked across the room, and with Hermione not looking up from the floor, they met with Blaise and Pansy. "Hermione, nice to see you tonight," Blaise said politely, taking Hermione's hand and kissed it softly. "Blaise, the feeling is mutual." She said with a small smile.

"I guess you mustn't be completely worthless if Draco has taken a deep interest in you for more than a year," Pansy said with a snobbish, cheeky expression on her face.

"Pansy. Nice to see you too." She said politely with lips pursed, trying to maintain her appearance as indifferent as possible.

"Don't get me wrong, and it's not like I despise you…that much. Your magical abilities and intelligence actually do impress me, for being a Mud -Muggle-Born girl. But I sincerely believe Draco would do much better with a well-bred, pure-blooded girl. Blaise could do too..." She said looking sideways at Blaise, before returning her gaze to Hermione with a wry smile "but that's beside the point."

Hermione looked at her without knowing what to say. Meanwhile, Blaise shot daggers at her. "Don't worry," Draco said putting his arm around Hermione's back, "What you heard is probably the closest Pansy has ever been ever to say a compliment. And you," He said to Pansy, "Should start respecting my girlfriend… and Luna too. As much as you despise it, Granger will be sticking with me for a long time," He said, and Hermione blushed, "As for Luna… I don't know, but you should respect Blaise's decision too." He finished, and Pansy rolled her eyes.

Talking to Blaise and Pansy was somewhat refreshing for Hermione. They weren't the kind of people she would approach at a party (or anywhere for that matter), but she hadn't felt at all awkward with their presence. After some uncomfortable and arrogant remarks made by Pansy, Hermione found her company not-at-all-annoying. She knew her pure-blooded arrogance and Slytherin pride prevented her from being nice at Hermione, but after some conversation between the witches, -she found Pansy could be a tiny bit amusing as long as the harsh comments were thrown at someone else. Or if she didn't say any too.

"And now," Draco said to Hermione, following his night's schedule, "It's time for you to meet my mother." He finished and motioned them to a far end of the ballroom, where they passed through glass doors which connected them to an adjacent room. _Wait what? I didn't sign up for this! It's too soon. Too soon!_ She frantically looked for a way out and saw her hopes dying out, as the closest doors looked farther and farther away from where they were walking to.

"My, Draco, you didn't have to scare the poor girl to come here!" came the voice of Narcissa Malfoy. Standing up from a very fancy-looking chaise lounge, a slim, white-blond haired and very sumptuous dressed woman approach them, and almost shoving Draco from Hermione's hold, she took her hands in hers and looked carefully at the I'm-about-to-faint expression on Hermione's face.

"Hermione Granger, such a pleasure and delight to meet again, and be able to join us in tonight's celebration." She said with a pleasantry motion, her pale blue eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Thank you for inviting me Mrs Malfoy," Hermione said above a whisper.

"Such a doll you are." She said smiling at her with her rouge lips. "Now, why don't we take a seat," Narcissa said, and with a single word to a man sitting next to her, all of the wizards and witches seated in the little parlour, stood up and left without saying a word.

"Whatever appalling stories my dear Draco has told you about me, I can assure you none of them is real." She said smiling graciously at Hermione, taking a glass with brown coloured liquid from the coffee table.

"N-Not at all!" Hermione managed, finding her voice at last. "In fact, Draco has told me only affable things about you, Mrs Malfoy." She said with a small, polite smile, looking at Draco with eyes that pleaded for help.

"Then I can assure you that all of them are true. And please, call me Narcissa." She said smiling with perfect, white teeth. "I must say, you look lovely tonight Hermione, silver goes well with your features. Too bad, you were sorted into Gryffindor. I have no doubt the combination of both silver and green would've brought up your eyes." She said, and the only thing Hermione could think of was letting a nervous laugh. _Merlin, this is going to end badly…_

"Mother," Draco intervened, and Hermione let out a sigh of relief, only her ears heard, "Hermione has expressed to me her wishes to do something about the elve's rights, planning to work at the Ministry."

"Oh, is that so?" She said looking at Hermione with interest, who only blushed at the intense stare of the pale blue eyes belonging to Narcissa Malfoy.

"Yes, I thought it could interest you, for you are also fond of house-elves." He said, and Hermione looked surprised at Narcissa. _I would never have thought the wife of a blood supremacist could be fond of house-elfs…_

"Yes well, as Draco is saying, I am quite fond of them, but can't do much about it, treating them with respect is by far the only thing I can do. You see, the position I'm living in and today's society forbids me from doing anything or even speak of it. Perhaps in the future, you'll be able to make some change."

"Did I told you she used to _knit_ hats for them?" Draco said with suppressed laughter, and the surprised look Hermione had, caused by Narcissa's past statement, changed quickly into embarrassment.

* * *

Narcissa Malfoy was by far what Hermione had expected. The awful encounter back in their sixth grade at Madam Malkin's and the drawing room almost a year ago gave Hermione the impression Narcissa was just as sick as her husband or her sister. How wrong she was. She understood now, the cold attitude in the blond witch towards almost everyone, was caused mainly by her husband's imprisonment and son's forceful task, causing great distraught in her.

 _Now that I remember how she looked back then, she even sounds like she's enjoying life now,_ Hermione noted, seeing the older witch smiling with all of her teeth more often than her. It was slightly disturbing.

After some time, Hermione felt a shiver down her spine suddenly felt a mild feeling of surprise and content as well, followed by what the beginning of sadness was. _I surely didn't feel that…_ But before any of her suspicions could pass through her mind, Narcissa's sudden exclamation snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Severus! Glad you could join us at last!" Narcissa exclaimed standing up and walked past Draco and Hermione to greet the wizards.

"My dear, you don't need to yell, you saw him at our Yule banquet." Hermione heard Lucius cold voice behind her. _I think I'm going to be sick_

"If we pretend we're not here," Draco began whispering to her when he was interrupted by his father. "Ah, Miss Granger. If I recall correctly, it's been… months since our encounter." He said with a voice as cold as an ice cube and Hermione was forced to stand up from her seat and greet the wizards. The pale face resembling the one of Draco's, stood with an impeccable attire and posture, looking at her with eyes that could kill. The wizard beside him stood taller, but his demeanour made him look less noticeable at the sight of the blond wizard. Hermione's eyes flashed for mere moments at the dark-haired wizard and saw that he looked healthier, but just like her, the little his mask could reveal in his eyes showed sadness and sorrow.

"Mr Malfoy, Professor Snape," Hermione said in the most monotone and courtly voice she had, her eyes never leaving the floor, doing the smallest half-curtsey ever in her life. _I hate to do even the smallest curtsey to any of this men, but in a party where everyone behaves themselves with such etiquette, my behaviour could pass as insolence if I don't_ she sourly thought.

"Such… _an interesting_ bird you got yourself for the night, Draco," Lucius said piercing the witch with his cold eyes.

"She's no "bird for the night", she's my girlfriend," Draco said firmly, and Hermione wondered if the statement was referred solely to his father. Anger and betrayal quickly passed through her veins, and Hermione felt suddenly dizzy.

"Hermione dear are you feeling alright? You're looking rather pale; maybe some biscuits might help?" Narcissa said, with mild concern in her face.

"It's fine; I believe I drank too much sherry." She said, and Draco raised an eyebrow at her. He knew as well as she did, she'd only one cup of sherry, not even enough to make her tipsy.

"Perhaps a Vitamix Potion would be useful. I could brew one in no time, and Miss Granger would be back with full energy." Snape said Hermione looked up to glare at him.

"Oh Severus that would be wonderful," Narcissa said.

"No, it's fine. I don't need any potion, _sir_. Thank you." She said acidly to Snape, trying to ignore the emotions which weren't hers passing through inside of her. "I believe I just need to lie down for a bit, Mrs Malfoy, if you don't mind," She said sweetly to Narcissa, hoping none had noticed her sour response to her professor.

"Sure thing, Draco please escort Hermione to one of our guest rooms if you please."

Draco nodded and took Hermione's arm. They made their way outside of the ballroom, Draco not minding bumping rather hard with Snape's shoulder on their way out, without Hermione noticing, and she suppressed the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach she felt when stepping away from the veela.

After walking through more corridors than Hermione would've liked, they finally reached a pair of jet-black wooden doors at the middle of one aisle.

"I thought the farther we went, the safer you would be," Draco said and motioned her to enter the chamber. "Where are we?"

"My room." He said, and she gaped at the room in front of her. It was far more fashionable and luxurious than any of the hotel rooms she would sometimes see in her mother's travel magazines. It was a vast room, full of black furniture, wall-sized windows with black velvet drapes, and a king-size four-poster bed, with curtains falling from the poster and full of pillows. The room was beautiful, yes. But Hermione couldn't help but feel the room was cold and distant. It didn't have any personal touch to it, nor it looked like anyone inhabited it. Impeccable and elegant as it may be, Hermione felt her Hogwarts' chambers more welcoming than this room.

"I have all of my personal possessions saved in my closet. I don't feel at home in this manor, not anymore. I'm waiting for the day I'm out of Hogwarts to build a new manor for my mother and me, free of dark magic and sins." He said, answering her silent question.

"What about your father?" She asked nervously.

"He can go fuck himself. All of his "redemption" is just an excuse to get himself out of Azkaban; I'm sure of it. I don't believe a sodding thing he says. If he truly loves my mother and me as much as he says to live in the new manor, he should show it. I have seen none since the end of the war."

"I'm sorry Draco." She said and caressed his arm and hand in an affectionately way.

"It's okay now. I've learned to see how people truly are over the years. Learned that the people who do matter, are the ones who support and care for you even though you make mistakes. My mother, Blaise, Pansy… they all stuck with me at my toughest times. Even you, Hermione." He said grazing her cheek with his long fingers.

"Even you gave me a second chance. I remember perfectly when you told me back in the summer, that you never lost the hope of me, but you were scared of how to approach me. You also said yes to our friendship after the war, when almost anyone else would've told me to sod off. That's when I think I truly fell for you, Granger. I knew you couldn't be more valuable with the stubbornness you have and the strong belief in second chances. And I'm sorry my father is far from being one of those people."

"Draco…" She began and was interrupted by the sudden, fierce lips of him over hers.

Shushing her down with a kiss, Draco's soft lips gently nibbled hers. Entering her mouth with his tongue, she let out a soft moan when his hand curled up into her hair, deepening the kiss. He traced down his kissed down her jaw, and when he reached her neck, her body suddenly stiffened and he stopped kissing her. "I'm sorry." He said breaking the kiss, "I forgot about it." He said stroking with his thumb the spot where his godfather had bit her little more than a week ago.

"It's okay." She said with a small smile, "If we can forget it's there, maybe it won't ruin the mood next time." He laughed. "I don't know about you Granger, but _my_ mood was not ruined." He said.

Fireworks exploded suddenly outside the outside, and from his uncovered windows, they saw flashes of colour illuminating the sky. Draco looked at the grandfather clock on his wall and saw there were few minutes left before midnight.

"Come, Granger, I know a balcony where we can have a better view."

He led her down the corridors, running like children for dessert, and she guessed they were close to the ballroom, for she heard muffled voices coming from her left. Just outside a salon mildly occupied, they made their way, unnoticed (or so they thought), and went on the balcony.

It was the biggest balcony Hermione had ever seen, like many other things tonight, and calculated there could be easily fifty persons on it, and all of them with personal space. Just on the edge of the marble railing, they stood, gazing the colours in the sky, erupted by the magical fireworks.

"It's beautiful" She breathed.

More fireworks erupted, and the could faintly hear the people's yellings counting down the seconds for midnight.

"I think you're beautiful," Draco said suddenly, embracing Hermione in a tight hug.

She smiled. "You don't know how happy you make me, Draco."

"Hermione, I don't care we've been officially together for mere weeks, for me, it has been much longer than that." He breathed into her lips as the counting for midnight approached its end.

"Me too. I feel like I can be completely myself when I'm with you." She said, dizzy from her proximity to Draco and not being able to do anything.

"I love you, Hermione." He said, his pale greyish blue eyes beaming at her brown ones. It was the first time in her life she had felt sure of her feelings.

"I think I love you too Draco." She said, and his lips crashed into hers as everyone erupted with cheers and cries with the announcement of the New Year. Such was the commotion of the fireworks and the yells of the people, neither Draco nor Hermione noticed the glass from the balcony doors cracking in its totality. And such was the happiness Hermione was feeling; it suppressed the sudden pang of agony and anger passing through her veins when she kissed and embraced Draco with loving words.

Less they noticed, the piercing and soulful black eyes looking at them through the cracked glass of the balcony doors.

* * *

The last day of holidays and the first of the year 1999, Hermione spent her day at Grimmauld Place packing her stuff to return to Hogwarts. Harry came in at noon, with a terrible hangover and a hunger worth of a beast, falling into the first sofa he could find and refused to get up until after 5 o'clock. Hermione made a Muggle remedy for his hangover, made principally with water and salt (She had to force it down Harry's throat as he wouldn't swallow), and prepared a beef and vegetable stew, and for her poor cooking skills, it had unexpectedly tasted too good. _Maybe we were both starving. Either way, Harry can't complain, his cooking skills are way worse than mine._

After Harry's complete revival from his hangover and both of their tummies full, Hermione helped Harry pack his things.

"Never let me accept one of the drink challenges the twins propose ever again, please." He said, and she arched an eyebrow at him. After explaining to Hermione how one of the challenges had resulted in him almost kissing Bill wearing only his underpants; she laughed out loud for nearly fifteen minutes.

The trip back to Hogwarts was as peaceful as much as it could be, students piled up at the train station, waiting to board the Hogwarts Express with their parents assured nothing would happen to them. Hermione and Harry thought about travelling by the Knight Bus but discarded the possibility almost immediately.

"Neville you're back!" Ginny said excitedly when the tall, brown-haired boy, made his way to their train compartments.

"Yeah, I figured I needed to be back this term if I wanted to do my N.E.W.T.s." He responded with a smile.

"Ron and I spoke to Lupin over the holidays. Gave us a head start on the training." Harry told him, motioning Neville to sit next to him.

"Brilliant! But, I'm not sure I'll become an Auror anymore." Neville said sitting down.

"Oh? And why is that?" Hermione said, entering their compartment after the first check-up in her duties as Head Girl.

"Well, I do like the thought of catching criminals the same way my parents did, but over the holidays, Gran made contact with Professor Sprout, and she contacted me with some renowned herbologist. I feel that's what I'm most passionate about."

"Well, if it's what you like…" Harry said.

"Don't get me wrong, I will become an Auror, but I'll also get an apprenticeship on Herbology. That way I'll have more options if I want to change works in the future."

"I think it's brilliant Neville! I also thought about getting an apprenticeship on Arithmancy once I'm working at the Ministry." Hermione said, beaming at him.

"You two are mental! It's not enough having an extra year at Hogwarts but also having _additional_ studies?" Ron exclaimed, looking back and forth at the witch and wizard with an incredulous expression.

"Oh, Ron as if you didn't know me! I _love_ learning!" She said indignantly and flicked her hair, "By any means, I came to say hello, but I have to go back and make sure the first graders don't start hexing each other." She said and exited their compartment.

The first days back at Hogwarts felt quite refreshing to Hermione's opinion. The weather was as frosty as ever, the constant gaze of Severus Snape still made her feel uncomfortable and the months for their exams were approaching. But she pushed all of the discomfort and uncertain feelings aside to enjoy her days with Draco Malfoy. _If this is what loves feels, then I don't want it ever to end…_ she dreamily thought every time she would see him. It was a feeling far from similar to what she'd felt for Ron. Like Draco, he told her he loved her mere weeks after they began dating, but the difference with Ron at that time was, she was unsure about her feelings. She started wondering if the kiss she had given him in the castle during the war was on mere impulse caused by the adrenaline of the moment after he expressed sympathy for the house-elves, or if she genuinely _felt_ that way.

Unfortunately, for her bad luck, all the happiness she had been harbouring the first weeks of January, came down with the bitter occurrence one windy weekend at Hogsmeade.

"Couldn't they _spare_ our poor eyes and stay in the castle? The Room of Requirements would've been a much more suitable place for what they were doing. Couldn't even finish my coffee in peace." Draco said, annoyed they had to leave the warmness of Madam Puddifoot's in the cold winter.

"Although I agree their... _displays_ of affection were a little over the top, you can't argue with the fact the Tea shop is the place where all couples take advantage and snog when the can't in Hogwarts,"

"They can if they know where to go." He corrected her and she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but it's nice to detach yourself from the castle once in a while."

"Do _you_ want us to be doing the same thing Potter and Weasley were doing back in the shop?" Draco asked, and her eyes widened in horror.

"Gods no! I firmly believe those displays of affection deserve solely to be exchanged in private. Harry and Ginny… they think differently."

"Granger, don't try to defend them. Everybody that saw that was disgust-" Draco stopped his tracks, and his pale face took an even whiter tone.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, and followed with her eyes, the sight Draco had seen.

A couple of blocks from Three Broomsticks, a small wooden house, standing among many others, had its windows and door broken, the few plants residing outside from it were burning, and a message of sorts was painted in thick, black painting on the walls.

"The loyal will remain forever with their real master, the war for the power the genuine and pure wizards deserve has not ended yet…" Hermione whispered the words smeared in black painting.

A little crowd had formed around the house and neighbours were already sending letters to the Ministry, to inform of the "attack". When asked why hadn't they seen the sign before (the house seemed unoccupied for at least two weeks), all of the pedestrians and neighbours claimed the broken windows, fire and the message had not been there until a few minutes before the Aurors arrived.

Students were asked to return to the school immediately and were told the visits to Hogsmeade were postponed until further notice.

"I just hope the threats are over by the time we're out from school." Hermione thought out loud and felt Draco's grip on her waist tightening at her words.


	15. New Discoveries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Long chapter today! Hope you're liking the story so far :)
> 
> Just a few notes:  
> 1\. Jovan Rosier is a new made up character, he isn't in the books, but he is in my story  
> 2\. If any of you happen to like The Phantom of The Opera, you might catch the reference of the POTO movie/play in the chapter. I can say I'm a romantic in that way ;)
> 
> Thank you very much for your kudos and comments, they're always very much appreciated <3

* * *

 

_**June 5, 1985** _

"Did you ever believe in love, Severus?" The fair witch asked him in almost a whisper, with absent and distracted eyes, not looking at anything in particular.

"Love? I always _believed_ your topics of conversation never dwelled on such petty things." He jeered in response.

"This isn't something you should be making fun of. Your last living relative just died a few days ago. As someone who knows how does it feel like to lose a family member, I can tell you your attitude towards it is not natural." She said in a stern tone, her eyes now resting on the small infant a few feet from them, blowing into flowers and transforming them into bubbles.

"Isn't it?" He said in an aloof tone, "It has been said that a person who shows their emotions is far stronger than the ones who don't. Of course, many others firmly believe the opposite."

"Don't try to patronise me, Severus."

"I'm not. I'm stating how differently people deal with grief; I'm just different than you."

"And are you grieving?" She said, fidgeting with the hem of her spring dress.

"Not exactly, no."

"That leads to my first question, did you ever believe in love?" She asked, and her eyes moved back and forward between the dark wizard next to her and the toddler, who now was changing the colour of his new toy every time he blinked.

"Your son will be a powerful wizard, so young and already displaying magic. It even looks like he knows what he's doing. He'll be a Slytherin for sure." He said avoiding her question a second time, looking too, at the little boy dressed in an aristocratic embroidered white shirt with red trousers. _Talk to women about their bloody children, and they forget everything else_ he thought acerbically.

She beamed at him and motioned the little boy to come closer. "Draco has presented signs of magic ever since he was three. Lucius was so proud when we visited his parents almost two years ago; they were impressed when he managed to make his teddy bear dance. They told us Draco will surely live up to the expectations there are for a Malfoy." She said proudly, holding the blond boy in her legs, forgetting all about her last question. _She took the bite_ he mentally thanked.

"I've noticed too, he does magic the most when he's happy. Today couldn't be any exception, could it my love?" She said, smiling to the infant for the last part. _How could it be when there is a pile almost the size of a car of presents for his birthday? A great wizard he might become, but no less arrogant and spoiled than his father ever was, and that's for sure._ Severus mused to himself.

"Have you discussed with Lucius the prospects of a marriage contract for Draco?" He asked the witch, taking a gulp from his tea, noticing the stiffness of the witch at his words.

"Ma-ry-age? I don't want to ma-ry-age ever! I don't like girls, they're boring. I prefer books over them." The little blond's voice rose from his tiny body, and he contorted his face in disgust. _A little one he may still be, but he indeed will be a brilliant wizard._ Severus thought surprised when the five-year-old seemed to know what the word marriage meant.

"Now Draco, why won't you go to your father's office and ask him if he's ready yet?" Narcissa softly told the blond boy, putting him on the floor. "Don't even think you're ever safe from some girl to talk to you, mister! And no _running_ in the house!" Narcissa finished, almost yelling at the already gone blond boy. After checking he was out of sight, she loudly sighed.

"Lucius has brought up the possibility ever since Draco was born. Today morning he told me he made an appointment with Cornelius Greengrass for the day after tomorrow. He has two daughters; one the age of Draco and one two years younger. He told me he'd contemplated the Parkinsons, the Browns, and MacDougals, but he considered the Greengrass family to be the worthiest for our son." She explained to him grimly.

"I don't want such contract to happen, Severus." She told him in almost a whisper, "I firmly believe in my son's judgement when the time comes, to marry a witch worthy of the position and prestige of the Malfoy name. It may have worked for Lucius and me, but what if it doesn't work for him?" She sniffed. Severus passed her one of his handkerchiefs at the sight of the teary-eyed witch in front of him. It made him quite uncomfortable.

"It pains… and breaks my heart thinking of what would happen if we betrothed him to one of Cornelius Greengrass' daughters and he ends up falling in love with another girl." She said, big fat tears rolling down her pale cheeks. "What if, when he goes to school he decides he loves the daughter of the Browns instead? Or the Parkinsons'? Or the MacDougals'?" She said, her words more erratic by the second.

"Or what if, in our many trips to France he falls for one of the daughters of Lucius' friends? He didn't mention them because they're in France but… what if Severus? _What if?"_ She finished, unable to contain her outburst anymore and burst into silent tears. She cried and sobbed, her chair scooted closer to Severus, but not quite enough to touch him. She blew her nose a few times, and while her weeps were silent, it was evident she had been harbouring her sobs and sorrow for quite some time.

Severus felt uncomfortable and awkward once the witch shed her first tear. He had enough tears coming from his mother in his past, to be enduring more from the wife of his friend. He cursed he brought up Draco into the conversation to avoid her question; he didn't know it would turn out like this. _Fucking Lucius **where** are you? I have the decency to come early for our appointment, and now I'm stuck here with his crying wife._ But he knew he couldn't just excuse himself and go to Lucius. He was a gentleman. Sort of. Even though Narcissa wasn't precisely his _friend_ , he cared to an extent for the witch, and it pained him to the minimal to see her like this. _Now that I think about it, my "friends" could be counted with my first three fingers, no more_. After all, she was crying about Draco, who was nonetheless but his godson, so it meant in some way, it was his business too, to look after the boy's welfare.

He cleared his throat and spoke, " I'm deeply sorry for the situation you're passing through, I do." He said cautiously, trying to calm down the witch in front of him. What would Lucius say if he suddenly came into the sight of his wailing wife and his so-called friend?

"Please, Narcissa I sincerely ask you to calm yourself. You shouldn't let yourself break like this in front of other men besides your husband. It's not proper." He said with whatever words came to him first. _Fuck formalities! I just don't want to get banned from here!_

"Y-You're right." She said at once, scourgified herself and tried her best to seem composed. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have seen that." She took two full minutes to calm finally down and look as if nothing had happened.

"I just… don't want to see Draco unhappy in his life. I love him too much for that, Severus."

"Even to these days, marriage contracts aren't so uncommon, especially within Pure-Blood Society. I am sure he will try hard to make you and Lucius proud of his outcome." He said, trying to comfort her.

"I know, but what if it doesn't work on him? Marriage contracts are for life, Severus. Once one is signed there is no way back, and it's complicated to disentangle yourself from one, mostly it's just passed through another family member or death. I know Draco is very stubborn when he wants and doesn't want things. Putting him in a loveless marriage contract may take even his life, and I don't want that." She said, and she fought back the fresh tears adorning her pale blue eyes.

After blowing her nose on his handkerchief, she had an idea. "Severus you could… you could talk to Lucius." She said and looked with hopeful eyes at the wizard who was hoping she wouldn't come up with the idea to ask him. "You're Draco's godfather, and maybe, maybe if you talked with Lucius, he'll take off his mind the marriage contract." She said, with shiny eyes and a beaming smile, hope in her voice. "I'll talk to him too, of course, but if he has two opinions from people he cares about regarding the matter, maybe it'll be enough to change his mind."

"I'll see what I can do about it." He said in an almost monotone voice, after a long pause of thinking. "But I can't promise anything. Like father like son, Draco got his stubbornness from his father. A marriage contract is very beneficial for a pure-blood family, just like yours. It'll take time to change his point of view."

"Yes, but what about love, Severus? Isn't that important too?" She said, losing the little hope she had in her voice and Severus loudly sighed.

"Narcissa, I once loved a woman, a woman who now is gone. A woman who never loved me back. A woman who, despite my utmost efforts, preferred to dwell with the weak-minded and fool hearts. I don't believe in love. I once regarded in it, but I've come to realise that love is just a fanciful hope many believe in, helping them to sleep through the nights.

"I don't want to discourage you Narcissa, but I too, feel a marriage contract would be a profitable thing for Draco. It is better to form love in something already existing than to hope for something that may never arrive, starting from scratch." He said, answering her first question. He didn't mention to her though, his decision and feelings towards love weren't only heavily influenced on Lily, but also in the fact he was a veela, and he was condemned to live a short, miserable, loveless life. _I don't care if she knows I once loved, the only thing that matters is that she doesn't know Lily's identity._

"Don't worry Severus, you didn't discourage me at all. I still believe in the love Draco might have one day for a witch, and I do too, believe you'll find it someday. But for that to happen, I can't have a marriage contract as a thorn in Draco's life. I still ask for you to try and change Lucius mind about the marriage contract if you don't mind."

"You do realise you're risking the possibility of Draco falling in love with a Half-blood witch, or even… a Muggle-Born one?" He said carefully, and she flinched at the words. Her cutting off contact entirely with her sister barely thirteen years ago caused by her marriage to a Muggle-Born wizard, still made her squirm with profound discomfort, every now and then. Never mentioning it to a single soul, she sometimes dearly missed her sister and her twelve-year-old niece with changing hair colours she didn't know.

"I-I am very aware of that Severus." She said after a few seconds of spacing off, "But I know my son. And I know Lucius and I will raise him well enough for him to know his heart only deserves the very best of Wizarding society. I'm pretty sure he'll live up to the Malfoy expectations, and as I said before, I trust my son's future judgement." She said looking him dead in the eyes, hers looking with nothing but confidence and determination.

"Very well. I'll try my best to change Lucius' mind. It won't be easy mind you, but I admit I would too like to see my godson happy with his partner choice." He said finally.

"Thank you, Severus. I'm confident Draco will thank you for this one day." She said with a sigh of relief. He nodded before taking off to Lucius' office, finding in his way the young Malfoy heir, already with a book in hand, and a big, blood red lollipop in the other. He chuckled, _No doubt at all he'll be as arrogant and spoiled as his father._

Little did he know, he'd just made his second biggest mistake of all his life.

**_February 1999_ **

Severus audibly cursed when he reached his personal chambers at Hogwarts. _Fuck this school, fuck the students and fuck my miserable life!_ He slumped back in one of his chairs and unbuttoned his black robes, revealing his white, smocklike shirt. His head hurt, and even with his veela magic, he couldn't concentrate it well enough to subdue the pain eating him slowly day after day. Not even the first week of the month had passed, and students were already fussing on about their plans for Valentines Day.

Even in his potions class, his usual severe and scary presence wasn't enough for the students to stop them from ranting the whole class about it. And it was Every. Single. Potions. Class. He. Had. At the end of the day, he'd already given more detentions his fingers could count and more points to make each house lose more than one hundred points each. It was the beginnings of February, and the weather was getting warmer. His mood wasn't. Sure, his attitude was _always_ bitter and harsh, but even the teachers began questioning what must've happened in the holidays for his temper to be worse than years before, ever since the start of the new term in January. Hermione -fucking- Granger. That was what has kept his mood on the verge of cruelty since January. No, scratch that. His temper had dropped from being standard hostile to abysmally tyrannical, since the last day of December.

As much as it's pained him, his grief had somehow suppressed some of his veela self, allowing him to be equally hostile towards Hermione in the last month. He couldn't deny that even though his veela self was "depressed" and didn't make him do any bizarre and funny things, he had to admit even to his "rational" and more logical self, the news his mate had oh-so-kindly-smeared in his face (without her knowing), had made his insides cringe with acid and hurt. It was one thing she was the girlfriend of his godson, but it was a very different thing to say _"I love you"_. His flashbacks of the night had somehow made his mind open up a memory he thought it was long lost forgotten. The day he convinced Lucius not to put Draco in a marriage contract. _The mind always envisions the most beautiful ways to torture a person._

The memory of the dreadful night, and that sunny June the 5th of 1985, had taunted him until the very present, always making his nightmares so vivid he could almost swear he was in someone else's memories, and he was a third party, watching from afar, in a pensive. He woke up every morning unrested and tasting bile.

On his youth, there were a few years where he'd considered himself a nihilist. After Lily's death and the "disappearance" of the Dark Lord, he'd turned himself into the best friend of the alcohol. Always keeping his posture and good demeanour whenever he was in his working hours, visiting Lucius and every other death eater who he'd liked enough to stay in touch with, he never once slipped and showed improper attitude. But in the dark times he spent in solitude and darkness, empty bottles of alcohol and empty packs and butts of Muggle cigarettes would always pile up in his house and Hogwarts' chambers, reaching to the point the smell couldn't be subdued with the smell of his various potion's ingredients.

He could have called himself an alcoholic with a chain-smoking problem. But he never tried with other drugs. He wasn't stupid. Sure, he'd tried it once or twice, and given he's a Potions Master, he had access to ingredients with drug-like effects and all sorts of hallucinogens and narcotics. He knew he could keep his drinking and smoking problem hidden from the world. But if he did drugs, he knew sooner or later, he would be somewhere near Knockturn Alley doing small and odd jobs for people like Lucius, earning only enough to satiate his addiction. No, he couldn't let that happen. So he kept the drugs away from his life and confined himself in the numbness the alcohol would give him.

He'd left his drinking habits at once when he was asked by Dumbledore to keep an eye on first-year Harry and the Philosopher's Stone. He didn't want to, he utterly despised it, but the thought of losing his job and Dumbledore's confidence as a spy won over a brandy bottle.

But now, he summoned a dusty bottle from his now-opened and unchained cupboard and gave the bottle of rum a long gulp. He'd done the same the dawn of the first of January, and on his birthday, the ninth. The only difference was the number of bottles he drank and cigarette butts on the floor; it looked _much_ cleaner now than previous days. _If I continue like this, it will be like in the eighties, too much alcohol to pretend I don't care._

Drinking the last drops of brown liquid the bottle would give, he tossed the bottle to his couch missing the pillow on it and rolling down into the floor; it broke with an audible crash. _Already pissed with only one bottle? You could do so much better back in the day Severus. That or the cylinders are getting fragile…_ he thought.

He didn't get any time to think about it, because just after he cleaned up the glass pieces, a Patronus with the form of a cat went inside his chamber. The voice of Minerva came out of it, and said, "Please meet me in the headmasters' office as soon as you get this Severus" and just as it finished, it was gone. Cursing, he took a Vitamix potion and did a cleaning spell on himself before he took off and met the old witch.

"I always preferred the live version of your Patronus knocking on my door, Minerva." He scorned her, annoyed he was disturbed from his somber time off. She glared at him.

"I wouldn't have bothered you if this weren't a matter of urgency Severus." She informed him tartly with pursed lips.

"May I ask what is it?" He asked, motioning her to go straight to the point. Her lips only thinned. He knew the witch liked to detail her stories and reports a great deal.

"The Aurors who investigated the empty house in Hogsmeade informed me of their discovery." She said, and he raised an eyebrow at her. "One of them was in the Order." She added, answering his silent question.

"Although I don't know why they only turn to me if you are as equally a headmaster as I am. You barely even touch this office." She said, and he sighed.

"Minerva, as I've told you thousands of times, you're more a headmaster than I am. I wouldn't mind stepping down and just assuming my job as the Potions Professor. I can see how much more you enjoy this than me." He said and sneered at the few portraits of past headmasters, nodding or commenting in agreement.

"Don't be silly Severus. You know as well as I that I can't do this on my own. At least not yet, once the whole country is stable again, and we finish this school year, we'll talk." She stated, finishing the argument, "How are you Severus?" The witch asked him softly noticing the dark circles under his eyes, his pale expression and his slim figure, clear signs of him not taking care of himself. "I know you don't especially like being here but ever since the new term I fear your temper has been... more _difficult_ than other times. Has something happened during the holidays?" Severus pierced his eyes at his colleague, never liking how sometimes Minerva would act in a motherly way towards him. 

"I'm _fine_ Minerva, my appearance must be the years catching up on me and my mood has always been like this. If anyone is to blame, is your students that won't shut up about their  _bloody_ holiday." He said in a harsher tone than he intended and Minerva stared at him in surprise, never had he complained about students being happy about Valentines Day.

"Very well, can't blame me for worrying about you Severus. I'm your friend; I care about you." Minerva responded with a concerned tone, "By any means, the Aurors found this on the inside of the house." She said and handed him a copy of what it looked like the instructions of some potion.

"It looks pretty much like a blinding potion. Only more complex and it also involves dark magic." He told her, after examining the recipe and she nodded.

"The Aurors found the house belonged to Jovan Rosier, the younger brother of Evan Rosier. They believe that after his brother died, and the press released he was linked with the Death Eaters, Jovan went into hiding. Someone in the neighbourhood must've recognised him, and well, he couldn't just leave without making his departure unnoticed.

"We believe he works too, as a Death Eater. Pure-blooded and good in potions he might be, but he lacks common sense. This sheet of paper left us with a clue of what are the remaining Death Eaters doing while they hide." She told him, giving the recipe a disgusted look. Severus had his eyes glued to the depleted-looking paper. _This is not only very advanced dark magic, but this potion seems new and unfinished. The question is, why were they brewing a blinding potion?_

"What I don't understand is why are they brewing this," Minerva said, after a pause, voicing his silent thoughts.

"I ask myself the same question. The only crucial and bothersome thing with this potion is that whatever it may be, it won't be cured nor reversed even with the most potent Oculus Potion." He said looking that some of the ingredients were massive amounts of Giant Hogweed, a plant known to blind a person if it comes in contact with the eyes.

* * *

 

"The first snowless day of the year, and you won't even bother looking outside of the bloody window!" Said Ginny Weasley, angry with the brown haired witch sitting at her side in the library, her eyes glued to the book.

"Ginny for the fiftieth time, I'm doing research." She said sighing and looked outside of the window three mere seconds before returning her gaze to her book.

"You told me that last time!" The redhead accused.

"Last time I told you I was _studying!_ I'm doing some research on something entirely different today. Now if you could lower your voice; please, I don't like the thought of Mdme. Pince having to scold us." She said, her eyes never leaving the enormous book.

"What is it that you are reading anyway? It sure looks interesting enough if your nose is almost touching the paper." She said chuckling.

"Oh sorry," Hermione said moving her back a little, a pinkish colour slowly spreading on her cheeks. "Habit." She stated in an apologetic tone.

"I'm… reading about veelas." She said in a quiet voice. "I'm searching if there is some "cure" about sensing each other's feelings whenever we are near." She suddenly felt very conscious of the fang marks deeply punctured where her jugular vein was, and a shiver went down her spine. She also didn't look up from the book, fearing the look in Ginny's eyes might just reawaken her tears she sometimes shed in her chamber; her neck as a reminder of how it wasn't all just a dream.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I bothered you then," Ginny replied in a small voice, her eyes glued with the same intensity Hermione had hers in the book, on the floor. On December, Hermione thought Ginny was trying to avoid speaking to her, trying to avoid talking about her ordeal. She now understood the witch didn't want to upset her, as she sometimes talked so much about boys, she didn't wish to let something accidentally slip. She later got over that phase, after much reassurance from the bushy haired witch, and tried to talk to her as if nothing had happened. Still, Ginny tried very hard not to enter with Hermione to "the danger zone", and kept her conversations as farther away from boys as possible.

"It's okay Gin, I prefer that you asked rather than just treat me as if I were made out of porcelain." She looked up at the youngest Weasley and let out a small, sincere smile."It's been almost two months since it happened, and to be honest, not much has happened between him, and me." Actually, it surprised her. Not that it bothered her, because Gods, she preferred cold and hostile Snape a zillion times better than the awkward, Veela hormonal influenced one. But nonetheless, now that she was mildly bonded with him - _Oh Merlin why_ \- she could sometimes feel a pang of angst and almost betrayal if he let his guard down.

Sure, last time Hermione properly talked to him she had almost thrown a fit and told him she needed time to think, but she didn't remember saying anything like, "I hate you" or "I don't want anything to do with you ever again". I _f I recall correctly, last time I virtually interacted with him was at the New Year's party at the Malfoy Manor. I didn't say to him anything too upsetting, then why he is intentionally cold to me?_ She had to speak to him, she liked it or not. She didn't like the thought of him suddenly dead and people blaming her for it when it was clear to Hermione it was Snape who didn't want anything to do with her anymore. _Don't lie to yourself, even if it was, you're disappointed he hasn't even bothered to look at you since the new term began_

"You know, I can keep talking and talking to the bookshelf or I can just go," Ginny said exasperated at her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Uh? Sorry, I guess I dozed off a little," Hermione said.

"Have you found out anything yet?"

"No, the only discovery I made with this book… and the rest of them-" She pointed at a pile of books resting on the table, " - is that not only is exceedingly rare for a mate to "reject" the veela, but it also doesn't matter if it's a full-blooded one or, like in my case, a quarter blooded one. Apparently, the majority as soon as they discover they're someone's mate, they happily run off with them." She said, trying not to imagine herself happily running towards Snape and dance in a flowering prairie, similar to those sappy, cliché romance movies her mother liked to watch.

"Can't blame them, with the _powers_ a veela has and all, I bet the sex would be awesome," Ginny commented, without realising what she just said.

"Gin…" Hermione said, looking at her with disbelief in her face and realisation presented itself as a big blush on Ginny's cheeks, her mouth forming a perfect "o".

"Hermione I didn't mean…"

"It's fine Gin, I'm okay. The only thing you did was implant me a disconcerting mental image." She said closing her eyes, trying to shut down the past exchange of words they both had. Y _ou know the words you just told her were nothing but **lies**!_ She shook her head and tried to suppress the last minutes completely.

"But back to veelas, I couldn't find anything in relation with long-term half-bonding. It says that almost all the mates take up to a maximum of a week to return the bite, it looks like leaving it up for a month is something unspeakable here." She let her face fall in defeat into her book, her hair covering the pages of it.

"Hey, it's not that bad. As long as you don't feel attached to him, it's going to be okay." _But the thing is, I don't know anymore!_ "What if you talked with Fleur? Not only is she a quarter veela, but almost her whole family is of Veela descendants. I'm sure she'll be able to tell you things you can't find in books." She said patting her back.

"Remus told me the same thing back in Christmas. I was going to, but I panicked, and well, it'll have to wait until we can go to Hogsmeade to invite her and talk about it."

"Remus?" Ginny said in a startled tone, and taking out a blood red sugar quill from her pocket she started licking it.

"His… wolfish heightened senses made him able also to smell the pheromones of Snape at Three Broomsticks. Although they don't affect him the same way they do to me of course, he also smelled his venom impregnated my skin at Christmas. He only had to put two and two together, and he knew my position in the whole thing." She sighed, and her eyes now focused on the candy her friend was chewing on. "Hey, we're not supposed to eat here!" She hissed at her.

"Oh calm your knickers! _I'm_ not reading anything, and nothing will happen if she doesn't know about it." She told her with a mischievous smile, her lips already sticky, shiny red from the candy.

"Speaking about Valentine's Day," She said changing topics, "What are your plans for it? Now that Draco is your _boyfriend_ , I'm sure you have juicy plans for the day." She said wiggling her eyebrows at her.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but stress is consuming me, and I haven't got enough time to think about it." Her hands went to her hair. "I'm jealous of your relationship Ginny." She said after a pause.

"Oh? How so?" She asked in surprise, half lollipop stuck in her mouth.

"Not in the way you're thinking! No, I'm jealous of how happy and care-free you already are. You have a boyfriend, you both love each other, and there's no threat whatsoever coming your way." She responded longingly. "I have too much to think about this year. Not only I'm turning twenty, but I have exams, I want to apply for a good job at the Ministry, maybe I want an apprenticeship, and I'm a veela's mate!"

"Feeling old already? You're about to be _twenty_ , and life's already catching up to you? Unbelievable." The witch said shaking her head.

"It's not _that_ bad Ginny. And you turn eighteen this year! We're almost the same age!"

"Really? Because I think I can see a small wrinkle forming right at the corner of your eye already." The redhead teased her, laughing.

"Oh shush it! And you never told me what _your_ plans for Valentine's day are."

Despite the broad grin on the youngest Weasley, her cheeks and ears turned the same shade as her sugar quill.

* * *

Valentine's day came, and the small feeling of bitterness Hermione sometimes felt had somehow increased like a wave of an ocean. It bothered her that not only they weren't her feelings, but it was also a constant reminder of _who_ was feeling those feelings and why.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to be there for your birthday Luna, but I hope you liked my gift," Hermione said to her at breakfast on Sunday morning. The blond Ravenclaw sometimes would pop in and eat with the Gryffindors, liking them much better than any of her Ravenclaw peers.

"Don't worry about it Hermione, I know you were tired, and you couldn't make it. And I loved the bracelet you gave me, look I'm wearing it now!" She said and rattled her wrist to show her the white gold bracelet, shining with the early sun rays the windows of the Great Hall let in.

"Again, I'm sorry," Hermione said blushing. She'd spent almost all of her Friday night, along with Draco, chasing some fourth-year students, who were provoking Peeves. Reassuring McGonagall they had it under control, they had pursued almost until dawn, a pair of Slytherins with a Ravenclaw, and a laughing Peeves. They both slept in until late hours in the afternoon of the thirteenth, and with frantic thoughts of her unfinished homework, she couldn't make it to Luna's small party held in the Room of Requirements.

"Blaise gave me a pair of earrings, which I'm wearing now," She said showing them her red rosebud earrings, "And a book of Magical Creatures." She said dreamily towards the Slytherin table, where neither the half-Italian wizard nor his best friend yet sat. Both Hermione and Luna knew they weren't morning persons, and if they could avoid it, they would sleep in through most of the morning.

"Blaise also asked me if I could be his valentine. He's taking me to Hogsmeade I think." She said in her usual dreamy tone. Visits to Hogsmeade were resumed that weekend, on a petition by students to let them visit Hogsmeade on Valentine's day. Snape had bluntly refused to give them the privilege, and McGonagall thought the opposite. So Hogsmeade visits were resumed only by students who were already legal of age, to the discomfort of the majority of the pupils.

"What are you doing for the day, Hermione?" The blond witch asked.

"I'm not sure. I mean -of course, I'll spend the day with Draco, but we haven't thought about it. I'm not that into the celebration of the day, but I assume Draco and me will do something today regardless of it. It's Sunday after all." She said returning a chocolate box from a second-year admirer, an owl dropped her.

"What'll will you do Neville?" Luna asked him, who was too concentrated on his cereal to pay attention to their previous conversation.

"Oh, I…" He started, and a light blush began spreading on his cheeks. "I thought I would ask Hannah Abbott." He said with nervousness in his voice. "She's also splendid in herbology, and we have a lot of things in common, so I thought I would ask her out as soon as I finish breakfast."

"I'm sure she'll say yes Neville," Hermione said standing up from the table, and after saying goodbye to Luna and wishing Neville good luck, she made her way to her chambers.

"We could snog senseless all day long in the common room, or in the Room of Requirements, or in Hogsmeade, or near the lake… We could also visit Hogsmeade and then snog senseless until our lips finish with a lovely purple shade. You choose." Draco told her, almost panting and breathing into her lips. As soon as she opened the door of their chambers, he'd pinned her against the nearest wall and while his hands were in her hair and his lips against hers, the books she was carrying lay on the ground.

Her mind started to get fuzzy, and her senses felt all wobbly when she inhaled his scent and tasted the sweet flavour his lips gave her. "So it doesn't matter what do I choose, we'll snog senseless in the end?" She asked him, and he responded with a kiss that left her wanting more and her already swelled lips, a darker shade of pinkish red colour.

"Of course Granger. It's Valentine's day! Unless… you want to do other things besides snogging, hmm?" He said with a wicked smile on his lips, which were puffy too, and a twinkle in his eyes.

She slapped him lightly on his arm. "Draco! You know school rules forbid us to do anything else! I meant visiting Hogsmeade! Although," She paused, biting her lower lip, "I don't mind the snogging part." She grinned at him. They both knew they wanted to do far more than just snogging, but being head girl, Draco knew just how much rules meant to her. _Although now that I think about it, she must've broken at least a hundred or more rules whenever she was with Potter and Weasley._ Either way, he didn't want to pressure her into anything just yet and preferred to savour the innocence of their relationship for a bit more. He laughed and spooned her around the room, her squeaking reaching the ears of Crookshanks, who merely scoffed at them, and returned to Hermione's room.

"I Love you." He said, and their lips touched tenderly.

* * *

Being one of the last all-wizarding communities in all of Britain, Hogsmeade wasn't exactly the most exciting of places. And even less with the lack of students at Hogwarts, the majority of them being underage. The misfortune of almost a month ago, left the little town with a bitter taste. Many were ashamed they didn't recognise Jovan before, and others claimed they indeed had never seen him before, and it was most probably he'd acquire the house recently.

But having survived already two wars in the past century, the little misfortune almost two months ago, didn't stop the civilians from celebrating with joy Valentine's Day.

Going to Madam Puddifoot's not only seemed too cliché for the occasion but even though there wasn't going to be an overflow of students, many young and older couples would undoubtedly visit the Tea shop with their respective sweethearts.

Draco led them to a small restaurant in a not-so-known area for students in Hogsmeade. The name was "Jenkins n' Bakin'" and from the inside of it, looked like the cosiest kitchen ever in Hermione's eyes (it was debatable with the Burrow's kitchen, but still). As they entered, he told her that before he entered Hogwarts, his mother would take out him to lunch here whenever his father was at a meeting or had too much work. "I know it doesn't look like a place my family would visit," He said sitting down at a table, "But my mother used to come here, in her Hogwarts' years. My aunt -Andromeda- used to visit her when there was a Hogsmeade weekend. She graduated a couple of years before my mother did, and she took her out to eat here. Of course, it was before she married Ted Tonks and lost all contact with her. She told me her last meal with her here was a week before she announced her engagement." He said and paused to take a sip from the glass of water a waiter magically transported to their tables.

"Not only in your family but in general, there are times where tradition is so important, that it breaks and tears apart entire families. The youngest ones being the most affected, having nothing else but to follow the rules." She told him sympathetically, her eyes scanning the menu in front of her. _Maybe pasta… something that doesn't leave me with bad breath…_

"Even though she doesn't talk about it, I can see in her eyes and sudden revealing face expressions that she misses her dearly. Whenever the Dark L- I mean Voldemort or any other Death Eater would talk about them, her lips would unconsciously tremble. In one of the few days I went to Hogwarts to help, she came with me, and I saw from afar she talked briefly to Lupin. Must've told him her condolences about Nymphadora."

"Why doesn't your mother approach your aunt again? The war is supposedly over..."

"We know it. She knows it. But is not that simple Granger, difficult as it was for me to reject everything I was raised to believe, she has too, to break those barriers. And not only that, but Pure-Blood Society can be cruel, even with each other. If someone, even my father, was to find out she made contact again with my aunt, there will be no mercy for it. Death Eaters are still roaming around, she's waiting for there to be real peace to speak to her again." He finished.

After Draco's mild confession about his family, they ate in peace, talking about parts of their lives they didn't know about each other, Hermione also explained to him some Muggle appliances and how they worked (earning a surprising range of emotions on his face), and he told her about his family, his visits to France and many other countries. When she told him about her parents, wondering what are doing right now, he joked that they would be probably petting kangaroos.

"Draco they're dentists. And they've been living for almost two years in Australia, I seriously doubt they're petting kangaroos right now." She said laughing.

"Hey, we live in England, and you still pet stray cats whenever you see one on the streets and don't deny it because I've seen you do it." He said, and she blushed.

After a pleasant meal, Draco, again, led the way and they walked on the snowy grounds of Hogsmeade, away from the houses and nearer to the little trail beside the forest and the Shrieking Shack.

"Does it ever go away?" He suddenly asked, stopping his tracks and looked at her.

"What?" She said, and his long fingers tucked one of her curls in her ear.

"The feeling of being trapped. Of knowing you can't be truly happy because you have a heavy weight on your shoulders." He answered, and his fingers traced the outline of her cheekbone, going down to her jawline, and finally resting on the spot of her neck where she was bitten.

"No, it doesn't." She said bitterly, closing her eyes at the cold touch of Draco's fingers in her skin. "I can try pretending it never happened or the fact I actually have fang marks on my neck," She laughed humourlessly, "But as much as I try, the tiny feeling always pricks the farthest corner of my head, always making its way into my conscience to finally taking residence in my waking life."

They walked back to the castle quietly. It had been a sweet Valentine's Day for both of them, but they knew their happiness was limited to an extent. _You can never be too happy about something,_ She sourly thought as they were climbing the main, almost deserted stairs. Too distracted they were, to notice the black, menacing figure standing at the top of the stairs, waiting for them to see him.

"Thanks Merlin I already finished my Arithmancy essay, I certainly do need sleep." She said yawning.

"We need sleep-," Draco said, and his pale eyes turned glacial at the sight of his godfather.

"Good evening, Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger-" "What do you want?" Draco cut him off, _Draco he's still our teacher!_ She frantically, though, hoping he would read her mind with his Legilimens skills.

"Twenty points from Slytherin Mr Mafloy, and don't challenge me to take _more_ than just house points." He said, his eyes holding the same coldness Draco's had. "Now, I came here to inform you; you have an urgent message. If I'm correct, I believe a third-year took it to your chambers. If I were you, I wouldn't waste my time on retrieving it."

Draco looked like he wanted to duel him, but with a soft touch in his arm from Hermione and words of reassurance "Go, I'll be fine", calmed him down enough to go and look for his message.

"And you Miss Granger, Professor McGonagall needs you to meet her at the headmasters' office, as soon as you got the message. I shall escort you." He said to her and motioned her to start walking.

"Thank you very much for the message, sir. But I can assure you I certainly can escort myself ." She said curtly and started walking. She only stopped when he heard his soft sarcastic laugh, closer to her. _How is it that he's so fast and silent?_

"Funny as it may be, coincidently, I'm required at the meeting too. It's only convenient we go together." He said in a wicked tone. Hermione was sure he'd somehow planned all of it.

"Very well." She said in a whisper, and they walked together.

"We haven't talked properly since the day… of the ball, you know." She said, finally breaking the deadly silence surrounding them. The tension was killing her.

"No, we haven't. You told me to give you time, and I did. But I no longer believe the time is necessary, you looked very pleased with your choice." He said sneering, and she blushed. _Wait, why am I blushing?_

"Severus," She said using his first name, and they both stopped. "It's not a matter of "if I'm happy with my decision now", but more like, you broke my confidence."

"You knew how quickly I could lose control. Your actions on that day only encouraged the veela within me to act without reason. If someone is to blame in the misshapen, it shouldn't be only me." He said looking fiercely at her eyes.

"I'm not saying the blame is all yours, but that day at the ball, I told you my relationships had nothing to do with our meetings, you should've understood it. And you lost control and bit me against my will. Having to _sense_ your emotions is not what bothers me the most, but the fact that you crossed the thin line between what is correct and what it isn't."

Moments passed, maybe even minutes. After watching the witch with melting snowflakes on her hair and fierce almond-shaped eyes, he just said, "Fair point." And continued walking, as if nothing had happened between the two.

Arriving at the headmasters' office, Snape led her into the room first, without any word and Hermione met herself with seven pairs of eyes. Draco looked furious and as soon as she entered he got closer to her and whispered in a tone only she (and possibly Severus) could hear "I came to our chambers finding that the significant message was a meeting with McGonagall." He said, and with a fierce glare at Snape, he returned at his place.

She looked up and saw three pairs of eyes full of concern when she arrived alone with Professor Snape. Giving them a small smile of reassurance, she looked around to see the remaining unconcerned eyes. She saw Minerva, Ron, and surprisingly, Neville. They all stood in a half circle, surrounding the wooded pine desk.

"I'm sure you're all aware the message in Hogsmeade a month ago," She started "Well, the Order and Aurors have found the house belonged to Jovan Rosier, the younger brother of now-dead Death Eater, Evan Rosier. We are not entirely sure Hogsmeade is safe for the trips to be resumed, nor what exactly are the remaining Death Eaters up to," She said and looked at all of them, their faces serene and attentive,

"But we know for a fact, they are doing a potent and dark blinding potion." She finished and handed them the copy of the Potion instructions they found in the burnt house.

"There had been already four attacks in what is only Scotland. Three wizards were transported immediately after what they believed, someone spiked their drinks without them noticing, and they drank it, leaving them completely blind.

"We don't know why they are doing it, but not only they're being unnoticed, but also the potion is so strong we believe there might not be a cure for it."

"Have they noted any after effects the potion might have?" Hermione asked, her heart thumping.

"No, they told us the healers were still doing diagnostic charms and so to see what they're dealing with. Many Order members are too busy, so I ask you to make a personal copy of these ingredients and try to reason and research in your free time, to try and come up with what it may be or theory of why are they using it." They all nodded, and she dismissed them.

"Oh please, Neville, Draco, Ginny and Luna stay here for a moment. Harry Ron and Hermione are already official members of the Order, but you aren't. I know you're still in school, but I think it's time to make yourselves announced to the other members. And please, watch your drinks from now on." She said as the Golden Trio made their way out of the office.

Reaching their dorms, Hermione lazily made her way to her room and greeted her half-kneazle cat with a big hug and a cat cookie she had in her pocket. Turning her head towards her vanity, she thanked Draco wasn't yet in the dorm because the almost-scream she did was enough to scare Crookshanks out of her room.

Carefully placed in the middle of the table, a single blood red rose with a black ribbon tied to it sat, with its beautiful petals looking like velvet. What scared her wasn't the rose, but the small note next to it. In black, thin ink, four words were written in the small parchment with the same spiky handwriting of her birthday poem.

**_Happy Valentine's Day, Hermione_**

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you in a couple of days :)


	16. A Solution?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know I said I'll upload in a couple of days, but I'll probably be out the whole weekend so I instead uploaded earlier this chapter. It's 3 in the morning but I didn't want to leave you without anything before next week :)
> 
> So a few notes on this chapter:
> 
> 1\. I know I haven't included much Severus in the last chapters, and after next chapter, his appearance will decrease a bit for a couple of more chapters, and then it'll increase and Draco's will decrease and then it'll be all about them both and ahh! Well, I don't mean to spoil anything but believe me, I know what I'm doing, be patient, and don't fret :)  
> 2\. I also know I put a whole chunk of italics instead of the a date from before, but I felt the memory to be more personal so after battling with myself, I decided to leave it like that. Hope your eyes can handle it :b
> 
> 3\. For the ones who've noticed, I swapped the Quidditch matches. I made the mistake in the first chapters but I decided to leave it like that.
> 
> Again thank you all for your kudos, comments and see you soon ;)

* * *

 

"Happy birthday Ron!" Cheered many Gryffindors while others lightly sang the chorus of "Weasley is our King" when the youngest Weasley boy blew out the candles on his home-made cake Luna had made for his birthday.

Although having a peculiar aftertaste on it, the chocolate cake with bright blue frosting and flaming red lanky letters on it was praised by everyone.

"The secret ingredient is one of my aunt's inventions. It never ceases to surprise new tasters! Although, I would advise you to stay away from any berries for the next couple of hours, unless, of course, you would like to have a blue lizard's tongue for a day that is." Hermione heard Luna say. She was talking in her usual dreamy tone, to a fifth year Gryffindor, whose face had turned a very pale shade of colour, and seemed to have trouble swallowing the chunk of cake he chomped mere seconds before Luna's warning.

Hermione looked with amusement the exchange of the petite witch and the boy with dismay on his face. It was a Monday, and everyone had agreed to have a sweet, small, birthday reunion in the Gryffindor common room the day of Ron's birthday, to save the weekend for Quidditch practice. Neither Harry nor Ron was on the team anymore, but the war had merrily caused House union even more than previous years. So instead of celebrating his birthday along with every Gryffindor who could go to Three Broomsticks with butterbeer on the weekend, they agreed they would instead cheer the Gryffindor team in their last week before the match. The match against Slytherin was rapidly approaching, and they didn't want to waste any minute of practice. It would be one of the deciding games, and the thought of having Gwenog Jones watching the last match was enough to put Ginny on edge with every single practice.

It didn't matter the game wasn't until almost two weeks from that day, nor the fact they were celebrating Ron's nineteenth birthday, Ginny's mood was nerve-racking and not only did the team members suffer, but everyone close to her did as well.

Hermione watched from afar Harry's arms enclose the fuming Gryffindor captain gently before Ritchie Coote's head was cut off. One hand was caressing her left arm while the other was stroking her hair, his lips moving close to her ear; Ginny visibly calmed. _He must really love her._ Hermione thought, and she sighed.

"So 'Mione," Ron asked her while sitting next to her, opening a Butterbeer bottle, giving it a sip, "what did you get me for my birthday?"

"And what makes you think I got something for you?" She said teasingly.

"Because you're Hermione Granger. You always care about people." He said flashing her one of the smiles she was so fond of. "And you can't lie." He finished with a laugh, and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Fine, you win. Here," Hermione said taking out a small parcel out from her bag and gave it to him, " I didn't have much time to wrap it up, but I hope you like it."

"What is it?" He said opening the parcel and handling the tiny golden compass-like object on his hand, looking at it with awe.

"It's a Safetyscope. It's similar to a sneakoscope, only that it spins and shines when you're in an area you consider completely safe. If you press this button," She said monitoring his finger to a small button on the little device, "And you let a tiny blood drop in here, whenever you press the button, it'll spin and shine when you're in an area there isn't something you consider a threat. I thought it would help now that you're becoming an Auror and all." She said with a smile.

"Hermione, thank you." He said, and her smile became an awkward one. She suddenly felt the thick and burning weight of his hand still resting on hers.

"Ron…"

"Oh Sorry," He said and removed his hand from hers, his eyes never leaving her.

"Its okay," She said but still felt uncomfortable; the fierce, blue orbs piercing through her.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out for us." He suddenly blurted out, "I… sometimes imagined us as eighty-year-olds with many granddaughters and sons, along with Harry and Ginny."

"I'm sorry too," She said placing her hand on his shoulder " And we can still do that, the only difference would be that the grandchildren won't be ours." She said with a small smile.

"I think I still feel something for you 'Mione, but I know it'll never happen ever again. And well, remember the Hufflepuff girl? I tried something with her… Gina was her name?" Ron said rubbing his head and twisting his face; he sighed. "Well, I don't remember exactly if that was her name but anyways, I realised I'm not entirely over you, and I'm trying." He said looking up at her with a small smile. "I'm trying 'Mione."

"Hey, it's your birthday! And I don't want to see you down. Have you tried Luna's cake yet?" She said standing up, not bearing to be any second longer in the suddenly awkward conversation she found herself with Ron.

* * *

Sitting in a vase with water on her vanity, the blooming rose had no signs of wilting. Hermione didn't know if it was charmed, but the hybrid tea blood red rose was as exquisite, if not more, than the day she found it sitting with a black ribbon on her vanity.

An aching feeling always crept inside of her every time she saw the flower, but she just didn't have the heart to tear and throw away such blossom. Crookshanks stayed at her side when she shed overwhelming tears of melancholy the night of Valentine's Day. He'd silently comforted her when lucid tears ran down her cheeks when her fingertips touched the velvety petals of the rose. It had made her somewhat protected and uncertain about her thoughts.

She had to put a notice-me-not charm on the flower when Draco finally came in, saving herself questions they both knew the answer to. She hated it, but she also had to lie to him, telling him the news about the Death Eaters had brought back memories of her parents, and she couldn't help her tears. She said to him all that not daring to look at him in the eyes; he didn't need Legilimency to know she was lying. His eyes could strip every trace of a lie in hers, she didn't want to risk it.

_"If it makes you feel better, I also felt like I lost my father in the war. I'm not sure when, but at some point, it felt like he was my father no longer, and he was only a person yearning and needing more power." He paused and kissed the top of her head, stroking her soft, silky curls, "His needing for acceptance from Voldemort reached the point he also needed to stand out even more from the Wizarding society. A man consumed by his greediness he became." He said, hoping he would be able to comfort her, he may have a mother, but his father was equally lost as her parents. For different reasons, but still._

_"Draco…"_

She felt not only wrong about her lying to him but also felt guilty he was now opening up to her about his family problems, and she couldn't do the same with her feelings. At first, her rational part of her brain made her come up with the most logical explanation of her vague feelings. She'd thought for a moment she might be suffering a severe case of Electra's complex but discarded it almost immediately. Not only was she interested in boys strictly her age or slightly older, but she was also confident she didn't feel a sense of rivalry with her mother. And it was one-hundred per cent clear to her that neither Draco nor Severus _-Gods, it's Snape! Let's stick with his last name!-_ is similar to her father. Not even in the minimal.

Then, of course, now that her rational self-was out of possible explanations for what in the name of Merlin was wrong with her, it was now the time of her sensitive self to take over the situation. Time to panic.

Before she had time to hyperventilate, she'd unconsciously walked across her room and to the vanity, to graze the petals with her fingertips, remembering the peace she always felt when she did it. She almost slapped herself when she realised what she was about to do.

 _This can't keep up. I will be a complete lunatic before I realise it. Not only am I getting less sleep, this has consumed almost all of my free time, and not only that, I won't get as many N.E.W.T.s if I become an underachiever at the cause of a silly mishappen!_ She meditated in her head her possibilities for a week, and when she was confident the library would give her as much knowledge as with the same she started with, Hermione knew she had to owl Fleur.

**_Fleur,_ **

**_I believe I have reached the point where the only source to prevent madness is by talking to you._ **

She ripped the paper. She didn't want her only hopeful help to be scared or offended by her. So she started again,

_**Fleur,** _

_**This may sound sudden, and I know we've never exchanged letters before, but I need your help, urgently. But first, how are things over there? How is your life with Bill going? And second…The main reason I am writing to you is that I just can't find any knowledge on the subject I'm searching in the books, and the only hope I have left is you.** _

_**There have been some incidents over the past months where the decisions I'll make may drastically affect my future. Due to the situation I find myself in, the information I have found in each and every book in the library about the matter has been futile. I believe your family history and your knowledge may help with the issue I have. You see, I would prefer us to talk in person, but due to the urgency of the matter, this can't wait any longer. I know you're a quarter veela, and I also understand your blood is inactive, and that's why you have such a beautiful and healthy relationship with Bill.** _

_**Well, I know a veela who's also a quarter veela, but his blood is active.** _

_**It also happens, I'm the mate of the veela as mentioned above. Yes, I have a boyfriend, who isn't Ron, and no, he isn't the veela. It's more complicated than that.** _

_**I wanted to discuss with you the whole rejection-acceptance deal with veelas and what happens when a mate has been bitten by one, but it has been almost three months since the bite, and there hasn't been any interaction at all with them.** _

_**I know it may sound confusing, and I'm beginning to ramble, but I'm in pressing need of help. And I know you're the only one I know who can help me because, even though you're not an active veela, many of your family members are o was. And you might know the information I need the books won't give.** _

_**I also want to discuss how the feelings of the mate and the veela are involved in all of this, but what I want to talk is much more extensive and complicated to put on paper.** _

_**Please write to me as soon as you can,** _

_**Hermione** _

_There, now I hope she doesn't see me as some degenerate._ She thought as she laid down her quill.

With many efforts, she made her way to the Owlery. Being beginnings of March, the little snow left was slowly melting away, causing the path to the Owlery to be the most slippery of the whole year. Carefully reaching the entrance of the Owlery, Hermione could see the pointy end of the Astronomy Tower. _Could it be that easy if I just end it all?_ She mused to herself and shook her head. _Come on Hermione, do you honestly care so little about your life? You certainly can do much better than this_  "In the worst case scenario, I could run away and live like my great-aunt Annabell. Away from the world like a hermit." She murmured to herself. _Now that I think about it, the last time I heard from her, I was seven._

Filled with all different types of owls, Hermione made her way to a far, top end in the tower, where the familiar snow-white owl cosily rested.

"Hey, Hedwig." She said petting the owl with her finger, waking it up.

"Harry told me I could borrow you whenever I needed to send a letter… and I need you to send this to Fleur Weasley. Could you do it?" She politely asked, and the owl blinked at her and affectionately bit her finger, as a way of agreeing.

"Thank you." She said and tied the letter to one of her legs.

Watching Hedwig through one of the windows of the Owlery, Hermione took one last glimpse at the Astronomy Tower with a blue look and exited the Owlery. "Bummer."

What she didn't expect to find on her way back to the castle, were the curious-as-ever crystal blue eyes of Luna observing her.

"Were you merely passing by or were you watching and waiting for me?" Hermione asked in a jokingly tone, but internally hoped it wasn't the latter.

Luna giggled at her. "I sometimes think you can be funny Hermione." She said, and Hermione didn't know if she should be offended or not. " But it's neither. I was passing by, and I saw you, so I waited here for you to come back. I wish to speak with you."

"Oh." Was all Hermione could manage at her surprise.

They started walking through the empty halls of the castle, both hairs shining with the amber light of dawn. "What did you-" "How are you, Hermione?" Luna asked her before she could ask what did she want to talk about.

"Me? Well, I've been fine I guess. Nothing has happened much in these past months. Just trying to get throughout the day and study for our N.E.W.T.s you know? I have to start doing studying schedules soon." She said nervously. But in truth, nothing _had_ happened much since December. And she wasn't sure she if liked it or not. The red rose almost made her faint, but besides that, it was almost as if nothing had happened in the first place. Too bad she wasn't the only one with memories that proved it all happened. Memories proving it wasn't a twisted lousy dream she had.

"You don't seem well. Healthy, maybe, but I can definitely sense you're not only uncomfortable with how you are right now, but also you seem a tad afraid."

"Afraid? Luna, I don't even know what you're getting at. Afraid of N.E.W.T.s I am. Afraid of something else I…" She stopped her tracks noticing she did in fact not own any valid explanation for her answer.

"I told you before I mean no harm. And you very well know what I'm talking about. And like my mum used to say, "It doesn't matter how grisly truth might be, what matters is a conscious clean".

They stayed quiet for a bit, Hermione letting Luna's words sink deep into herself, deciding whether or not confess how she sometimes (quite regularly actually) missed Sev _-Professor Snape's_ company in the few meetings they had.

"I'm going to tell you a story. And I would like your opinion at the end of it." Luna said suddenly as if reading her mind, and they made their way and sat on a stone bench, beneath one of the torches on the walls.

"Some twenty, twenty-one years ago, in Northern Ireland, a young witch, had the same problem you have now. In the small town of Baile na gCroíthe or Ballygrot, there is a relatively large population of wizards. To put it this way, there are more Wizards than Muggles. Next to the little town, a small settlement of veelas resides, even to this day.

"The young witch fell in love with a tourist she met one day. He was also a wizard, merely looking for exciting things in such interesting town. They both fell in love but were met with misfortune, as they both weren't financially well, so she couldn't go and live with him just yet. He promised he would return to her with enough money to take her away and build themselves a lovely house in Devon. Months passed, and as she waited patiently for his love to return, she didn't notice at the time she had caught the attention of a part veela. A veela who lived with his family, secluded from the veela community, for having mingled with wizards.

"The veela, being who he was, tried with all his might, to catch the witch's attention. She was his mate. Long after they met, she finds his true identity and what role she played in it. She was devastated.

"Many months passed, and still, her lover didn't return, so she accepted and started "dating" the veela, even going as far as letting him bite her. After some time, she also fell in love with him. But by a twist of fate, one night before she accepted bonding with the veela, her lover returns and exclaims to her they now can happily get married, as he finally built them a decent place to live.

"The witch, now broken on the inside, tries to convince her lover to stay a few months before they depart, hiding the fact she was a veela's mate. But the witch, honest as she was, couldn't resist her guilt and explained to her lover the situation she was in.

"Broken-hearted, her lover understands and tells her she shouldn't refuse the veela. If she is his mate, then it's her destiny. The witch is torn by this statement because not only she is in love with a part veela, but she also loves the tourist, her lover.

"After much thinking, she comes to the decision to stay with the veela, for the best, only to find out she is pregnant and carrying her lover's child. Of course, she tells this to the veela, and he doesn't have any option other than to let her go."

"T-the veela let her go? _Can he do that?"_ Hermione stuttered after moments of silence, listening to Luna's story.

"Of course he could. He loved her; she was his mate. He would do anything for her welfare. He also understood her love was for both, and he knew if he stayed with her he wouldn't only make her lover miserable, but also her and her unborn child. So he let her go."

"And what happened to them?" Hermione asked in a whisper.

"The veela died shortly after, of heartbreak, the couple married as her lover promised, they moved to the house in Devon, and soon after, their child was born."

There was a pregnant pause then, and Hermione analysed the information Luna just gave her, putting the pieces together in her mind. When realisation was slowly sinking into her, she dared to ask, "Luna, you told me your mother was Irish…"

The witch with pale skin and electric icy blue eyes nodded at her, with a small smile playing on her lips.

"Yes, yes she was."

* * *

He wasn't in a good mood. He wasn't up to any games or jokes his peers made about, or with, him. He was pissed, and it was all his godfather's fault.

Ever since the ball, and the - horrible incident he felt his breath going away-, Hermione looked sadder, and the usual spark of her quirky, stubborn self, seemed to be fading slowly. Draco didn't exactly know what had she, and Snape talked about, when the greasy bat sent him alone to his chambers, only to find out he too, needed to go to the headmasters' office, but he knew it wasn't good news. Not in the least.

She spaced out more often in the hallways, she bit her lips to the point they had an almost permanent, although quite lovely, a purplish tone in them, and even though she was still the best in the year, she wasn't as fast raising her hand in classes like the way she did.

Always seeming distracted, and, he even dared himself think, fearful of something. The stars he would always gaze and get lost in Hermione's eyes weren't as bright as they were other days. He wanted to speak to her, because, she might have talked about it to some degree, but he knew she was still hurting.

"Hermione." Her first name came out of his lips at the moment he saw her enter their common room.

"Hmm? What is it?" She asked with concern painted on her face. _Must've taken her out of the blue with my use of her first name,_ he thought.

"Why won't you sit with me? It's been weeks, if not months, which we haven't spent some time together reading by the fire like we used to." A flashback from one of the very first of many precious moments they had crossed his mind. He realised that the affections he had for the witch may have even started before he knew it.

_"Granger, I swear, if I see you with more than five different books in your hands a week, my eyeballs might just pop out from my face," Draco told her. They were at night, deep in the dungeons, patrolling for any out-of-bed-student who thought it was best to wander off in the school. They were near the few disused classrooms there were left. Being the coldest ones in the whole school, even more than the Potions lab and the Slytherin common room, past headmasters decided they were no longer for use, and the tradition still carried on._

_"You don't have to see them. I'm not forcing you to read or see every single book I'm reading. Besides, at the time no one comes by here, I can use it to my advantage and study for my O.W.L.s" She said without looking up to Draco. She was sitting on the floor, with a book on her lap, and her wand illuminating the empty hallway with Lumos Maxima. _

_"Granger, I don't know if you've noticed, but we're in FEBRUARY. Almost four months until we have to do them! I'm not worried about them, and not only do I have nearly every subject you're also taking, but my grades are one of the best of the whole year!" He exclaimed and picked up one of the books on the floor, scoffing at how many book separators her Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5 had, and she blushed, barely noticeable in the dim light her wand provided. _

_"Y-You can never be too sure! And for your information, I'm too tired and too cold to be studying right now, so I'm doing some light reading." She said almost indignantly, and Draco had to make significant efforts not to snigger at her "light reading" she had on her lap, a book of no less than seven hundred pages._

_"I don't believe many students like the idea of wandering off in the dungeons at this temperature, but I do believe some of these empty classrooms have a fireplace installed. Care to take a look?" He asked with a sly smile, and she looked sideways before she threw a piercing look at him. "And I not only believe but am sure you and your books would be more bloody comfortable next to a fireplace than in the floor." He said with mild superiority in his tone, and he heard her sigh, in agreement._

_"Fine, but if there's anyone outside and gets caught by someone else, I will not be the one punished by the toad!" She said standing up, picking up her books on her way._

_"Please, Umbridge **loves**  me." He grinned at her, showing all of his white teeth. "As long as she worships the ground my father steps on, if you stick with me, you'll be out of trouble." _

_"If she **loves** your father, and you like you say she does, then you can tell him to say to her to stop this nonsense about patrolling this part of the castle which clearly looks like no one has stepped on it… for **decades**! " _

_They walked a few meters, deeper into the dungeons, and they found themselves with classrooms bigger than their usual ones, and by consequence, much colder. Draco wondered about how the halls and classrooms looked so… unused. Yes, it was the coldest, creepiest and most hunted place of the whole castle, but it was the perfect place for anything either illegal or… anything really. Might as well bring Pansy here someday… if she doesn't act like a crybaby of course. _

_"Hey Granger, this one's got a fireplace!" Draco exclaimed to her, entering one of the classrooms._

_The classroom was spacious and empty, save for a few chairs, desks, and couches scattered around the room, full of dust and spider webs. "This must've been some kind of study room," Draco muttered to himself._

_"Hey, Gran- Argh!" He was suddenly pushed by the bushy-haired Muggle-Born, hurriedly making her way to the couch nearest to the fireplace. Lighting with blue flame sparkles the fireplace, and making a quick Scourgify to the couches, she comfortably sat on the edge of one and continued reading her book. "This is so much more comfortable than the ice-cold floor." She sighed the words with warmness in her voice._

_Taking his pride away, he made his way and sat to the opposite side of the couch Granger was in. It was much more comfortable._

_"That's not the book you were reading back in the corridors." He said, breaking the silence between them, by an unexplainable urge to talk to the bookworm, who was now more-less his friend._

_"You wouldn't like it. It's Muggle literature." She said, not looking up to him. He found it unnerving._

_"For your information Granger, **we** may not like Muggles, but throughout the years I've come to accept… not everything they do is useless rubbish." He hissed at her, and she looked up at his words, her eyes filled with a gleam._

_"Then do you know about Shakespeare?" She whispered, and he detected a tiny trace of hope in her voice. He disappointed her._

_"No. And if it's something like the romantic junk Pansy reads in her magazines, I don't care." He said, and she laughed. "It's nothing like the things Pansy reads. Although it is a romantic play," She said and then whispered softly, something sounding like "actually a tragedy", "it is nothing an intelligent and cult mind wouldn't like. It's a Muggle classic, and the romance in the novel is just the cherry on top of all the political, and social issues talked about in the play." She said, and he noted her unhidden enthusiasm in her voice now._

_"What's the title?"_

_"Romeo and Juliet."_

_"And what is it about?"_

_"It basically tells the story about two star-crossed lovers born in the wrong families." She said after some thought and he asked, "What do you mean?"_

_"Well, you have these two families, Capulet and Montague. They're sworn enemies, even to the extent of death. Then we have the daughter of the patriarch Capulet, Juliet, and from the Montague side, there is a son, Romeo. And in a ball held by the Capulets, Romeo and Juliet fall in love deeply with one another."_

_"But they can't!" Draco whispered unthinkingly, and she giggled._

_"No. But they did."_

_"And what happens at the end?"_

_"Well, I've read it at least three times now, but I don't want to ruin you the end. I can lend it to-" She said but couldn't finish, as Draco had suddenly scooted closer to her, the closest he'd ever been in his life, his eyes glued to the book._

_"No, I want to know **now**." He said, and she blushed. _

_"I didn't read too much; we can start from the beginning if you like." She said and stiffly opened the book in the beginning._

_Reading the first act of the play, Draco wasn't only engrossed by the story, completely different from anything he'd read before, but he noticed the sweet and absorbing smell her hair and skin transpired. Completely different and more authentic than Pansy had ever smelled. Maybe if I scooted closer, I could breathe in more… he though and when he did, Hermione suddenly rose to her feet, her face, illuminated by the fire, burning with a pink colour, and eyes looking at the watch on her left hand, said, " Merlin, it's almost three in the morning! It's been hours since our patrolling ended! We must return now. We can continue on our next patrol." She stated in an alarming tone, and in their hurriedly walk towards their respective dorms, Draco couldn't shake away from his mind the enticing scent she had, and in the burning spot he felt on his left hand ever since she had brushed with her hand his skin the moment she stood up from the couch._

_The only thing he was sure of was the fact he wanted to repeat the sensation again._

"Draco?" Hermione said, shaking her hand in front of him, her face full of concern. It wasn't normal for him to just "space-out". And the times he did, was when he was deep in thought about something important.

"And it hasn't just been months, but _years_ since that time I was so disappointed to find out how your romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet ended." He said returning to the present, and yanked her by her hand, towards him.

"It wasn't my fault Shakespeare decided to kill off both characters, along with many others. It wouldn't have been as fruitful and transcend if they both had lived. It's the magic of art; sometimes you must have a sad ending to make your piece perfect." She said, her lips almost touching his. The sweet scent of the cherry quill still resided on her lips and breath. He learned to notice, over time, whenever she was feeling stressed, she would carry few sugar quills with her, and chew on them in their free periods. A new habit of hers, he found. She didn't use to do it, mainly because she didn't eat candy, but he 'd found her doing it lately. But the thing he loved and learned too, over time, was the taste of the quill on her lips.

He revived his memories, by crashing his lips against her willing ones, and by touching her silky curls, the vanilla scent she always carried, engulfed and filled his nostrils and brain. "Hermione," He whispered against her lips and little by little he traced his lips further down, and with almost a sigh, he placed his lips softly on the forbidden spot of her neck, testing the waters of how much she'd recovered from it. Seeing her closed eyes and parted lips, he continued to caress and kiss her soft neck with his parted lips. Ever so delicately, he tasted her skin, feeling how the goosebumps would travel through her body.

One hand of his travelled north, and for the first time he dared and placed his hand below her breast, his thumb tenderly stroking her bosom, winning a soft and almost inaudible moan from her lips. Smiling against her lips, he nibbled her lower lip, and he placed his full hand in the place his thumb was. More incoherent moans and sighs came from her throat as he massaged her breasts with his hand, toying now with the hem of her shirt.

"W-Wait." She suddenly said through ragged breaths and broke the kiss, along with the touch of Draco's hand on her.

"Was it too quickly for us to-" "No, it's not that." She interrupted him, her eyes glued to her legs.

"I… I think it's better if I show you." She said nervously, and before Draco could think anything, her shirt was off, leaving her almost topless, save for her bra. And he understood the why of her affliction of him touching her. Just below her collarbone, tracing down her chest was a purple line, a scar, which was a visible (or at least to any wizard who knew dark magic) sign of the leftover of a curse.

"Who?" He said, his fist unconsciously clenched and his eyebrows frowned.

"Dolohov." She whispered, not daring to look up. _At least he's in Azkaban now,_ he thought.

"Hermione." He said, raising her chin with his thumb, making her look into his eyes, hers full of tears. "You're beautiful Granger. I would care less if one of your limbs were missing, you were scratched in the face by a werewolf, or stung by a Blast-Ended Skrewt. To me, you are beautiful beyond any physical aspect. And if you're still feeling subconscious about this," He said, placing a finger on her scar, ignoring the fire burning on his skin at her touch, "I think that you are as fascinating and graceful with it as if you didn't have it. Even more, it shows your bravery, and your benevolent soul, fighting for what is right." He said and wiped her cheek from the single tear that rolled down from it.

"Thank you, Draco." She said smiling, embracing him. "Although, not all of my scars show my success." She said miserably, breaking off from their embrace.

"About that," He said, now pointing at her neck. "Granger, you've been different ever since the bastard of my godfather bit you." He said.

"Please, Draco… let's just not go there. My mind has been playing tricks on me, and I don't want it to continue in the time I'm with you." She said, and to Draco's disappointment, she put on her shirt back again.

"Did he threaten you?"

"What? No, no he didn't. Actually… he hasn't spoken to me at all ever since we returned to Hogwarts." She said, and to Draco's horror, he could almost hear the disappointment in her voice.

 _Please don't let it be what I fear it is,_ he thought as he made a mental note about talking with his godfather later.

* * *

 

**_Dear Hermione,_ **

**_I was impressed by your letter, seeing we had never shared correspondence before but was not less glad to receive it. We are doing great, thank you, Bill recently got a promotion in Gringotts, and we celebrated by going to his favourite Muggle restaurant in London. I began a part-time job in the Ministry as a translator, and I can say it is going all well. Teddy is as lovely as always, although there are times he makes me feel like not having children ever! But not to worry (Molly says I scare her with that every time), I do want children someday. Not now, I want first to get settled in my new job, besides the point Bill and I are enjoying our lives very much as they are right now to think about children yet._ **

**_But back to your letter, I never would have thought there were any veelas in your school! Less the fact you would be the mate of it, how strange life is! Please don't worry or stress about it right now, worrying is not only bad for your skin, but you can get sick of it too. Easter holidays are approaching, and we could meet in Hogsmeade for a broader conversation on the matter, as I can see by the contents of your letter it is not something to be taken lightly._ **

**_It is quite urgent that we meet, not only for your sanity but also for the well-being of the veela. I am too, a quarter veela, but the difference in myself is that my veela blood never awakened, so I don't need a mate for the matter. But having veela parentage, I know much more than what is written in books._ **

**_Please write to me back again to arrange the date of our meeting,_ **

**_Fleur_ **

Hermione read for the third time Fleur's letter, before writing on the nearest parchment her response about the time and date of their meeting. Besides the fact she had explained to her more about her personal life than she did about veelas, she didn't know if she should be offended by her comment on "being surprised about her befalling to be the mate of a veela".

With frustration, she ripped the letter into pieces and threw them into the fire. She knew she was acting childishly, but she didn't even get a clue of what to do in Fleur's letter. And the thing about her not stressing, worried her more. It's not her fault, though. _She was right about meeting up, even if she wanted, that much information about veelas couldn't be transmitted only by a letter._ She sighed in frustration.

Snapping her out of her thoughts and frustration, she saw a tiny, greenish looking elf with wide eyes looking up at her. And holding with his long fingers and small hands was a letter.

"Uhm…" She said, unsure about how to react.

"Young Miss, I has a letter from the headmaster to you." The small elf squeaked and with caution, stepped closer to her, giving her the small parchment.

"And may I ask what's your name?" She asked politely to the elf.

"I is Detsy Miss."

"And tell me Desty," She said, unsure if she was talking to a male or female elf, her protective instincts for elfs kicking in, "Do the new headmasters treat you well?"

The eyes of the elf widened and began nodding frantically. "Oh yes, Miss! Yes!" The elf sang, almost screaming, "Destsy is treated with respect!" It said.

"Oh, good to know. Thank you for the message Detsy." Hermione said with a smile, and with a single pop, the elf disappeared from her sight.

She opened the parchment, and in the familiar, taunting letters, it was written,

**_Please meet me in my potions office as soon as you get this._ **

**_S.S_ **

With a big lump in her throat, she carefully made her way out of her common room, and without waking up Draco, she went to the potions office.

"You wanted to see me?" She asked after her professor silently let her and offered her in the same silent tone, a cup of tea.

"You know this tea won't be beneficial now in the night," She casually added, seeing his lack of response to her last question.

"Severus…" She said, unafraid of using his first name now, after the long and pregnant pause, still without an answer.

"It's a chamomile infusion. Giving your _excellent_ skills in potions, you should already know it'll help you sleep, not the other way around." He said monotonously, and she blushed at his compliment, without a single trace of sarcasm in it.

"That wasn't my first question." She said more boldly.

"Sev-" "I have come up with a solution to our problems, that'll benefit you the most, I'm sure." He interrupted her, bitterness in his tone, and he slowly extended his hand, and quickly retracted it back, his face now hidden in the darkness.

"A solution?"


	17. A moment alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you'll like this chapter, and I hope the characters aren't too OOC, I don't know, I just felt like it a bit.
> 
> Also, another thing I want to address, to avoid further confusion, is that I know Hermione and Draco might seem unreasonable because they know Severus might die and so, but I hope future chapters help you understand Hermione a bit more. Yes she's still a teenager and yes she perfectly knows its practically up to her if Severus dies or not, but understand the position she's in, and also the fact she didn't choose to be in it. It's not an easy decision to make and feelings don't suddenly pop up. This is planned to be a long story so please be patient haha.  
> Thank you all so much for reading this, your comments and your kudos, they're all so very much appreciated.

* * *

 

Full-hearted yelling, sweaty shirts, and pale bright sun were what greeted the Gryffindors and Slytherins the windy Saturday of their game day.

Through ragged breaths, the Gryffindors were now chanting the name of Ginny, who appeared to be the one scoring almost all of the points in favour of their house. Wanting to keep loyal to Hermione, Draco promised to stay by her side in the game, but after some mocking by Blaise and the efforts of Hermione to convince him to keep loyal to his house, he agreed and sat in the Slytherin part of the pitch, cheering for his fellow peers.

Ron was in a deep conversation with Dean about the odds of the game points while Harry was seated next to Hermione, his voice already husky from his almost non-stop screams at Ginny. His hand was securely wrapped around Hermione's, his iron grip tightening every time Slytherin scored.

"Harry, if you don't mind!" Hermione practically shouted in a pained voice, no longer feeling her dead hand. "What?" He shouted back, his eyes glued to the flying redhead. "My hand! Your grip is too tight!" She yelled back and pointed to their linked hands. His eyes looked at her for a mere second, and replying with a quick "Sorry!" he loosened his grip a little, his eyes back on the game. _At least he's enjoying himself,_  Hermione thought. _Thinking about it, this is the first year Harry is able to enjoy every Quidditch match from the audience side during his whole stay at Hogwarts._ Coincidently, almost all the times there was a Quidditch match, were also the times he was injured, banned, or in detention. And even though he missed being on one of the flying brooms, Harry wasn't going to miss any games in his last year of school. Even less now his girlfriend was the captain.

"GO GINNY!" She heard Harry scream at the wild witch with flaming hair flying close to one of the goal hoops.

Sad as it may be, the only cheering in the common room that night was the boisterous cheers of Neville, having, at last, become the boyfriend of Hannah Abbott. Everyone else was mourning their lost game to the Slytherins.

Even though the snitch got caught by Natalie McDonald, she miscalculated their points by the time she caught it, so even though she did, Slytherin won by ten points.

Trying not to look too disappointed, there was an unspoken agreement, and everyone, including Ron, decided to not speak of it, just as it never happened. Everyone besides Ginny that is. Just after the game had ended, she almost had to be restrained because she felt like using whoever passed her way as a punching bag. Not twenty minutes had passed after they entered the common room that she fell into an almost catatonic state. She wasn't crying, but her eyes reflected her broken dreams.

"Hey Dean, how come you're here, and Seamus isn't? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have you here, but being a Muggle-Born… I thought you'd have it harder to return, like most of us." Hermione said, approaching Dean, who looked quite pleased to see her just after Ron told him he was going to the loo. It wasn't unknown Ron could speak nineteen to the dozen, and sometimes it could be quite tiring.

"Hey, Hermione." He greeted her as she sat next to him. "Well, my mum almost threw a fit when I told her I would be coming back to Hogwarts, but my father and I convinced her it wasn't only for the best, but there weren't any murderous wizards trying to kill or imprison us anymore. Told her too, I didn't see any promising scholarships for Muggle universities in the future," He chuckled. "And Seamus… he said he wanted to experiment with the Muggle world, so half of last year he worked in his father's retail store, and since January he's working at Diagon Alley in a Quill shop I think." He told her, pausing a bit to take a sip of his pumpkin juice, "But I believe he wanted to return to Ireland, after all, his family is from there."

Hermione suddenly caught some fourth years sniggering quietly at the way Ginny was seated. She was sitting in a small tabouret, her eyes looking forward and her back straight. "Dean if you could excuse me for a moment," She politely excused herself, and throwing at the young Gryffindors a furtive look, she approached Ginny whose hand was clasped in between Harry's.

She crouched next to the tabouret and held Ginny's free hand in hers, mirroring Harry's actions.

"Ginny, you're worrying us all." She softly started, not getting any response, "I know this game was so crucial for you, for all of us, but we can't dwell on what happened in the past. Our only option is to move forward." She told her, mentally praying Harry didn't make a comment about time-turners. He didn't, and she mentally sighed in relief. "Besides, even though Slytherin won by ten points, we're still ahead of them! Not only will Gwenog watch the final match in which you'll be in, but there's still hope for us to win!" She told her enthusiastically, and the youngest Weasley finally snapped out from her trance-like state to look at her with eyes keen on curiosity and confusion.

"Hope?" She asked and then turned her head fiercely to Harry. "Merlin's beard! How could I've forgotten?" She shook Harry by his shoulders. "It doesn't matter that we lost, we can still win! We'll only have to practise harder and better, and we'll have the cup in our bags!" She exclaimed with joy and proceeded to assault all of the other team players with her usual motivational speech.

"I'm so in love with her." She heard Harry say under his breath and she laughed.

* * *

"I sincerely don't understand why you are both complaining. You don't have to attend ten classes like I do, you're no longer on the Quidditch team, and neither of you is the head boy!" She said to both Harry and Ron, the three friends reunited after the end of her Magical Runes class. "For Merlin's sake, you're taking only five N.E.W.T.s!"

"Hey, 'Mione don't blame us," Ron said, motioning with his finger Harry and himself. "We saved the world! Don't we deserve a little rest? Or a little credit?" He said, and while Harry only laughed, Hermione frowned at them.

"Honestly," She sighed through her nose, "If you would stop and think for a moment our contribution to the war is not _everything_ in the world, then you wouldn't be so full of yourselves!"

"You know how we've been all these years Hermione. Of course we haven't let the fame go to our heads." Harry stopped and looked sideways to Ron, "Well, at least I haven't," He grinned and Ron replied with "Oi!". "But being studious and hard workers like you haven't really been how we function." Harry finished, and Hermione sighed.

"Although I appreciate the compliment, you still need to do some work! Just because Kingsley allowed it for us to apply to the Ministry without any N.E.W.T.s, doesn't mean you're allowed to and goof off all the time when you're actually doing them!"

"I can't imagine what you must've said to my girlfriend for her to be so worked up." Hermione heard a chuckle as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind. Her cheeks were flushed bright pink while her hair was already somewhat puffy.

"I-I'm not worked up!" She defended herself, " I only get frustrated with the fact that with the opportunity they gave us, neither Harry nor Ron seems to be grateful enough." She said indignantly, but the small smile threatening her lips made it clear to Draco she only meant half of it.

"It was only one homework!" Harry claimed.

"Stop complaining and put your arse to work!" Draco called with a laugh as he and Hermione made their way to the opposite side of the corridor.

Hermione couldn't help but feel all fuzzy and happy at Draco's touch. He was holding her by the waist with one arm while the other carried her bag. _I could get so accustomed to this_ she happily thought.

"I haven't told you, but in the Easter holidays, I have an appointment at the Ministry." He said when they both sat down on a stone bench near the lake.

"Oh? And why is that? Does it has something to do with your father?" She asked, her face full of concern.

Seeing the deep frown already forming in her face he chuckled, "Relax Granger. It's for a job interview." He told her, and she turned one of her curls between her fingers nervously. "I knew you wanted to work in the Ministry as well as I but… I was hoping we'd go together and apply until after we finished school…" She said in a timid voice.

"Remember when I told you I wanted to either work in the Department of Law Enforcement or in the Department of Mysteries?" She nodded and he continued, "Well, I went for the Department of Mysteries job, and even though I wasn't supposed to tell you this, or anyone for that matter," He muttered the last part to himself, " I wanted to apply to be an Unspeakable, and they told me they have something like their "own rules" inside of the Ministry." He said air quoting the last part, "And so even though I don't have my N.E.W.T.s yet, the job interviews are being held the week of Easter holidays."

"So I won't be able to know with who or what you'll be working with?" She asked, her voice sounding nervous. He softly laughed.

"I will tell you some things, although I don't know if they'll force me into a vow or something, either way, I don't plan for this to be my life job. I'm really interested in politics, but I know that if I go there from the start, I won't be able to get out from there later. So I'm going for this in the meantime." He finished and softly placed a kiss on her upper cheek, and when he pulled away, his eyes locked on hers. She smiled.

"When we first started talking like civilised people, I still couldn't get why so many girls would fall with you." He pierced his eyes at her, and she laughed, giving him a turn-away smile.

"And why, in your so ever intelligent mind, did you come up with such thoughts?"

"You mean, besides the fact you were a spoiled brat with an obsession with blood supremacy?" She teased. His response to it was quick. Without her having time to even breathe and the fact they were both sitting on the stone bench, he already had her pinned to the wall, his lips brushing the ivory skin of her jaw and her hands pinned to her sides.

"Now," He said, and his lips moved upwards to her earlobe, nibbling it slightly, making her shiver. "would you still say and think the same about me?"

"D-Draco, someone will see…" She said weakly against him.

"You know at this time of the evening, no one comes by to this part of the castle. Besides," Draco said and his eyes burned against hers, lips almost touching, "you still haven't answered me." She shook her head, and her eyes glued themselves to his lips. She could breathe his scent; the thought of tasting black tea and an apple made her mouth water and her insides tremble.

"Say it." He pressed, and his lips got closer to hers, almost kissing them.

"N-No. I don't think the same way now." She said, motioning her head closer to his touch. "I… I love you."

It was the last thing she had said before she felt the hot and smooth touch of his lips on hers. "I love you so much, Hermione." He said between kisses, one of his hands securely wrapped in her soft curls while the other caressed her neck. More than just heated kisses yelling for more physical contact, the soft kisses felt like a scream of pure love, a feeling of belonging genuinely reciprocated from both parties. Her hands grasped his clothes desperately as if he were to let go of her, leaving her forever.

"Don't leave me…" She said through ragged breaths while kissing his face.

"…Never." He said continuing to kiss her amorously, until they met with the wet and cold feeling of grass, having fallen from the bench.

"It's your fault we'll almost miss dinner," Hermione said along with a half laughing Draco, jogging their way back to the Great Hall.

" _My_ fault? Granger, if you weren't as _enthusiastic_ as you were back there, we might've reached the Great Hall sooner." He teased her, and her cheeks turned a shade of bright pink. "Besides," He said catching up to her, "Don't tell me you didn't like it.".

Hermione would've tripped and fallen to the ground if it weren't for the ice-cold voice calling them from behind the exact moment Draco finished talking.

"As much as I would like to give you both detention right now, I must first, ask you what you were doing." At the same time, both Hermione and Draco turned and saw the big shadow coming closer to them, its pale face frowning with a look of anger. Sudden feelings of betrayal rushed through her body and Hermione couldn't help but feel embarrassed and a tiny bit ashamed. S _top it! Draco is your boyfriend, you shouldn't feel this way._ Hermione mentally berated herself

The sight of the potions professor and new headmaster made Hermione reawaken memories from days before. Memories she wished she could erase permanently from her mind. Memories that were unwanted.

She also wished she didn't lie to herself.

_"A solution? What do you mean?" She said with trembling lips._

_"It means that we don't have to deal with each other anymore. I'll be gone from your life as well as you'll be gone from mine. Forever." He said in an icy tone. She didn't want to admit it, but his words had hurt her, and even though he didn't show it, he felt her pain. It was crushing him, but he had to carry on with his personal mission._

_They stood silent for a few moments until she suddenly said without thinking, "You can't do that, you'll die!" before her cheeks turned red and her eyes wide as plates._

_"Oh?" He said raising his eyebrow. "Are you suggesting something, Miss Granger?" He sneered at the use of the formality of her name._

_"I-I didn't necessarily imply something…. sir." She stuttered and blushed at her words, her eyes looking towards her lap._

_"Then I would suggest you keep your mouth shut, and let me explain before you start rambling nonsensical words." He said and took a gulp of his tea. And even though he didn't look up to her, he could hear her faintly whisper "Yes sir," before an eloquent silence engulfed them._

_Being too ashamed to look up at him, Hermione kept her eyes on her lap. She knew he was taking advantage of this, as she felt his burning and piercing gaze over her, his eyes breaking her walls, uncovering her utmost hidden feelings and secrets._

_"I should give you chamomille tea more often, it sure shuts you up." He casually commented with a sly smile, every word full of venom and sarcasm. Why is he so cynic with me? Hermione absently thought, but she then remembered she was speaking to the Head of Slytherin, one of the wizards being known for his cunning and sarcasm ever since he was a student. Yes, he wasn't too helpful for this situation, the man was always like that, but Hermione recalled he was to some extent "nice" to her because of some hormones and magic he couldn't control. No, he wasn't attracted to her at all, even less considering her a person of respect. He was merely trapped in a situation where if he doesn't comply with his creature's needs, he dies. _

_Hermione couldn't stop herself from being disappointed and sad at her conclusion._

_"Before you continue to dwell on your unhappy thoughts, I should continue with what I was saying. I sent for you because I have found myself with an option I'm sure it'll benefit both ourselves." He stood up from his chair and retrieved a small parchment from his desk; it was a yellowish paper, full of scribblings and traces of mud. He handed it to her, and as her eyes scanned the paper, she saw she was looking at a potion recipe of sorts; a very complicated one too._

_"Why are you giving me this? What does it mean?" She asked, her brain yet incapable of processing everything, the mood was still too stressing and edgy for her to think clearly._

_"And here I thought you were the most competent witch of your time." He growled, stepping closer to her. He bent down to her, and his arms grasped the chair arms, leaving her wholly trapped between him and the chair. His face merely inches away from hers._

_" This," He said lowering his eyes to the piece of paper securely grasped in Hermione's small fingers, "Is my ticket to freedom, and yours too." He whispered the last words into her ear. His velvety voice sent shivers down to her spine, and Hermione fought not to look directly into his eyes, fearing she would lose herself to them._

_"You see," He continued, "I found a potions master, like me, in Rumania, who might help me with the piece of paper you're now holding in your hands. This potion, if done correctly so, will allow me to have full control over myself without letting my veela self-slip and react to you…. until the day I die." He said somberly, and Hermione felt sick._

_"Do you want to die?" She asked with a trembling voice, and for the first time in the whole evening, she dared to look up and stare into his big, dark eyes._

_He faced her with a hard expression on his face and saw the glassy eyes and flushed cheeks the young witch below him had. Severus felt disgusted and horrified at the fact that even though he was heavily doped with the veela potion, the witch still had an effect on him. And he didn't know for sure if it was just the veela in himself who'd become infatuated with her. "Don't you understand?" He said through gritted teeth, "That it is not my right to decide how my future will end? That even though we try, it'll never happen?" Hermione knew there were no traces of the veela on the outside, she smelled nothing, and both Severus' eyes were still usual black. But she noticed how much emotion and passion they showed._

_He took her shoulders in his hands, and he shook her; the cup she was holding crashed to the floor. " This," He said, and he tightened his grip on her, his right hand cupping her face and his hot breath against her jaw. "Will never happen." _

_He let go of her, as gently as if he were grazing the petals from a rose and stepped into the darkness, hiding from her eyes._

What shook Hermione out of her momentary trance in the memory lane was the almost-violent conversation her boyfriend was having with the potions master and the subject of her emotional instability.

"I already TOLD you, _sir_ " Draco was saying to the man whom once was almost a fatherly figure to him, "We may do whatever we please in our spare time. Whether we want to skip dinner or not, is our problem, not yours." Hermione was left open-mouthed with shock. Never in his life had Draco spoken so rudely to a professor before (for the exception of Dumbledore), even less to the man who'd raised him whenever his father faltered.

Severus, noticing this, took the opportunity and spoke with the most monotonous voice he could manage, "Very well. You can go and do whatever _you_ please, and noticing you won't eat dinner, I also expect no to see you in the Great Hall." He said, and Draco's face gained a pale shade of red. Just before he could retort Severus added, "And seeing you're already leaving, I would like a word with Miss Granger, _alone_."

"What? You can't do that! What will assure me you won't lunge her? I think you've already done too much damage here." He said defensively, stepping in front of Hermione. "Draco I-" She tried to speak, but was cut off by her potions professor, "Last time I recalled, I was or rather _am_ , the headmaster. So if you don't want any detention _Mr Malfoy_ , I suggest you return to your bedchambers. _Now_."

"You can't just-" Draco began, but Hermione lightly pressed his arm. "Draco, _please_. It'll be just a moment. I promise." She said to him with a small smile on her lips.

"Fine." He said through gritted teeth looking menacingly at his godfather.

Hermione turned, and just as Severus began walking they heard "Granger wait!" Coming from the opposite direction.

"I forgot something," Draco said approaching them.

Just as Hermione was going to ask him what was it, Draco pulled her towards his arms and gave her the most passionate kiss they've ever shared in front of someone else. It wasn't until a not-so-very-quiet cough coming from Snape brought them back to reality, and they separated. "Be careful my bushy-haired bookworm." He whispered lovingly to Hermione, and giving one last triumphant look at his godfather, Draco finally walked away, quickly fading out from eyesight, leaving an infuriated veela behind with his girlfriend, who was blushing furiously.

"What was it that you wanted to discuss with me, professor?" She asked after she had gained control of herself and her breathing became normal again. Although her tone was a polite one, she couldn't help but say the word 'professor' in a nervous tone.

"I would prefer for us to discuss this matter in my office if you please." He said and motioned her towards the way to the dungeons. She didn't move.

"I'm not sure that's an excellent idea, sir. Dinner will be over soon, and I must do homework-" " _Hermione_." She was cut off again by Severus. The use of her first name on his lips drowned her words.

He quickly looked sideways, and when he was sure no-one would pass by, he got closer to Hermione and grabbed her chin softly with his fingers, making her look up at him. "This might be -and hopefully- the last time we speak privately." He said to her.

"All I'm asking is a moment alone. Nothing more." Hermione could do nothing more other than nod after his black orbs captured her brown ones.

* * *

The cold hallways seemed to get more narrow as Severus Snape led Hermione silently towards his chambers. Every single drop of water that fell from the stones to the floors and the cracking of the few leaves caught in the castle sounded a million times louder than Hermione ever remembered.

She didn't remember actually entering the potions classroom, passing through his office, and entering his chambers. It wasn't until a _plastic_ cup of tea was placed in her hands that she shook out from her semi-trance mode.

"I don't want you accidentally breaking up more of my tea set. I don't know if you've noticed, but you've already broken at least three cups, and the material is too fragile for magic to repair it completely."

"Uhm, thank you." She said taking a sip of her tea. After moments of uncomfortable silence, she spoke up. "Where did you get this? I know your father was a Muggle, but I thought you hated anything relating to Muggle stuff."

"I do. I've had this cup since I was a young boy. I had a friend who, like you, was careful about everything but the teacups. My mother's tea set was much larger back then. It was pretty common whenever she came to my house, a piece of my mother's tea set would suffer. I decided to make one from plastic to avoid any further broken glass." He said with a tiny twinkle in his eyes shyly showing, his face looking far away, into a remote memory. The moment was short-lived, for when Hermione started smiling at him, he cleared his throat and said. "Yes well, I still want for my mother's tea set to survive at least until my death, thus, the plastic cup in your hands." He said, mask back on, without giving any further explanation about his past, or who was his friend. A _female_ friend by the looks of it. _I wonder if the friend he's referring to was Lily_. Hermione thought, feeling somewhat bittersweet.

"It's okay, I don't want anything to happen to your mother's tea set too." She said in a soft voice.

Moments passed, both wizard and witch equally uncomfortable with the lack of communication passing through them. It unnerved them both, but at the same time, there wasn't really much to say. Hermione felt like Severus utterly hated her, and no matter how nice she was towards him, his demeanour of "The dungeon bat professor" wouldn't change even though they were sort of magically bonded with each other. And Severus felt like he was in Hogwarts all over again. Veela or not, he didn't want to say something that bothered Hermione in any way. He was scared with his veela being, rubbing too much of his feelings towards Hermione on him. What frustrated him more was the fact he was beginning to realise this "veela" side of him wasn't an entirely different entity inside of him, but more of an unexplored side of him.

"Hermione.." He whispered her name, his lips brushing her earlobe. Neither of them knew how Hermione was almost pinned to the nearest wall, Severus leaning against her. He inhaled her scent, and with his utmost self-restraint, he kissed her neck, without drawing out his fangs to avoid marking her again. He'd taken his veela potion, he knew, but even with the most potent dose he had, the fragile young bird before him almost made him feel worse than the time Lily held his hand one time at Halloween when the ghosts decided to prank the students randomly.

"Tell me not to leave, and I won't do it." He told her roughly, pinning her hand against the wall, entwining their fingers together.

"I… I don't want you to go.," She whispered softly, nibbling at her lip, the words that fell from her lips speaking nothing but the truth.

"Then tell me," He said, his lips almost brushing hers, "Are you in love with Malfoy?"

"I…"

The moment he sensed the absence of her answer, he silently let go of her and walked to the other side of the room.

"As I told you previously, your graduation will be the last time you see me." He told her icily, not caring he'd left her alone in his chambers with her heart ramming against her rib cage and her eyes filled with fresh tears.

_**The first week of April (Easter Holidays), 1999** _

"It was sweet of you inviting me 'here, 'Ermione. But if you're staying at 'Ogwarts for the week, I don't understand why we didn't meet up at Three Broomzteecks." Fleur Weasley said, taking a sip from her teacup. After their letter exchange, Hermione decided to invite Fleur for lunch at Grimmauld place.

"Oh yeah, I am. But I came here because exams are getting nearer and with my studying schedule I realised there are many useful books here that I can use to study. I'm only staying the night, tomorrow morning I'll return to Hogwarts." Hermione explained. In truth, she was both frustrated and angry her personal problems had gotten in their way with her studying. She was still the best seventh grader, but she had now little more than two months to study, so she decided to enclose herself with her books and notes the full break.

Draco also had too much on this plate for this break. He decided to start looking for a proper place to build his new manor, his interview to become an Unspeakable lasted two days, and he also had to study for exams. Even though she was crammed with work, Hermione still regretted a little bit she couldn't be there to support Draco the day of his interview.

Fleur scrunched her nose at Hermione answer before saying, "You could've told me before. I 'ave a friend, Mireille, 'ou runs a lovely café in Muggle London. She does zis beautiful charms on ze patisserie. You know she 'elped Molly with my wedding cake?" She said.

Hermione couldn't help but be embarrassed at her words. Even though her voice sounded cheerful, Hermione noticed the cool look of disdain in Fleur's eyes watching her lunch attempt. Due to Hermione staying and study at Hogwarts, Harry decided to visit the Burrow for the break along with Ginny and Ron, neither of them thinking much about the food stored at Grimmauld Place. Even after deciding to stay one night and invite Fleur for lunch, she hadn't thought about buying anything. And Given the amount of stress and studying she had to do, she also hadn't considered a place to take Fleur for lunch. It was only when a curious Ginny Weasley approached her about her stay in the house that Hermione actually thought about the food they were going to eat. She panicked.

A notably improvised dish of crumpets, which was one of the very few recipes Ginny learned from her mother (Ginny knew _barely_ a tad more about cooking than Hermione did), wasn't something the quarter veela was expecting when she was promised lunch. After hurrying down to the closest convenience store to buy some honey and marmalade, she thanked Ginny for her help, and the redhead disapparated away moments before Fleur arrived. Ginny, of course, didn't leave without first giving Hermione a sermon about having pumpkin butter in her counter but no honey nor jam.

"I know this isn't much, but honestly," Hermione sighed, "I'm overstressed with personal and school matters to be able and… _plan_ this better. We could go to your friend's café if you want…" She said motioning the nearest Floo with her thumb.

"No, it's fine." Fleur said slightly shaking her head after a pause much too long for Hermione's liking, "Besides, lunch wasn't our first priority when you invited me 'ere, wasn't it?" She said, and with an assertive and thoughtful look in her eyes, she watched Hermione, who blushed, forgetting for a second why she invited Fleur for lunch. _I bet that if she had studied in Hogwarts, she would've been assorted into Slytherin._

"No, it wasn't." She replied with a frown taking a sip from her coffee cup slightly laced with Firewhiskey. Hermione wasn't that much of a drinker, but the times needed it, and she didn't feel prepared enough to be one hundred per cent sober with whatever Fleur might tell her. It was irresponsible as hell, she knew, but Hermione knew better than to get drunk over it.

"Now, tell me everything you know about Veelas," Fleur asked folding her hands together, looking straight at her.

"I er…" Hermione thought about the most relevant things she grasped from all veela books she read. "Well, Veelas are known to be physically identical to humans when not transformed. They can be very protective of their mates, hmm if they are half wizards, their magical abilities get stronger-" "No." Fleur interrupted her with a stern face. "I know that you've probably read every single book there ez in 'Ogwarts' library about veelas. I also know 'alf of the books written are outdated and 'alf truthful. No, I don't want you to tell me what you've read, I want you to tell me what you _know_."

"Oh," Hermione said her face flushing with embarrassment. Memories of the past year began flooding her mind, and before she could blush any further, she finished her cup of coffee and replied,

"Veelas can be very powerful. If not careful, you can trigger their temper, thus, making them not only angry but also potentially dangerous. They too are... utterly protective and obsessive about their mates." She said, her face probably a dark shade of pink by now. "And the last thing I know about them, and also am _sure_ of it is…" She swallowed hard before finishing. "If they're not full veelas, they have two personalities. They are two entities in one body; feelings and thoughts… are entirely different." Hermione had never wanted more than to _Accio_ the Firewhiskey quietly resting on her kitchen counter and drink it all in one swing.

"You are correct… in almost all of your statements."

"What? What do you mean? You told me to tell you everything I know about them, and in this last year, that's everything I was able to catch."

"It zeems that not everything." The young blonde said, taking a sip of her tea with a small smile playing on her lips.

"Then, would you like to _enlighten_ me about the thing I missed?" Hermione said through clenched teeth, her patience for the veela running out.

"Veelas don't 'ave dual personalities or anything of the sort unless there ez madness running in ze family, anyone would notice if there were. We are a complicated kind yes, but ze feelings ze veela 'as are ze same as ze "non-veela"" Fleur said making a face. "'as."

"But… but it can't be possible! I know Severus! Or I think I do…" She said in a low voice, averting her eyes towards the floor. She shook her head. "Anyhow, by the way he treats me, and by how he reacts when he drinks his potions, there is no way he's feeling the same the way his veela does."

"So it ez Snape?" Fleur said with mild surprise in her tone. Hermione clasped her hands to her lips, not realising she just gave away the identity of the veela.

"Never liked him much I admit, he could wash his hair a bit more too," She said scrunching her nose, "But don't worry, I know 'ow secretive we sometimes are; I won't say a word." She said, completely forgetting the fact Hermione mentioned something about a potion, and Hermione relaxed.

"At any rate, 'e's probably facing a time of change. Whatever 'e has told you, in a negative form, ez the painful way 'is feelings of protection react towards you. 'E may not be fully aware of it now, but 'e's pushing you away because you desire eet. And you know that as obsessive and lovesick they might be towards their mates, the mate's happiness comes first, even though eet means their doom." She said in a deadly serious tone and Hermione paled. Remembering Luna's story and not caring about what the blonde witch in front of her might think, she excused herself a moment and with trembling hands, served herself another cup of coffee, filling her cup with more Firewhisky than coffee. She gulped almost all of her cup before returning with Fleur, whose eyes told her the little act hadn't gone unnoticed.

Fleur looked at her with stern eyes, patiently waiting until Hermione spoke again. "So you're saying, veela's hormones, magic or any of-of that taken out, Severus… may love me?" The witch in front of her merely nodded at her statement and drank from her cup with admirable grace, as if they were talking about summer vacations or the latest gossip.

"No, it can't _be_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you next chapter ;)


	18. Goodbyes and new beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here is another chapter for you, hope you enjoy it :)
> 
> Thank you for reading, commenting and giving it kudos <3
> 
> P.S. For the fans of Phantom of the Opera and Muse, I've left some easter eggs for you to find. You'll also notice I'm a BIG fan of POTO and thus the inspiration for my fic

* * *

 

_**June 1999** _

Pansy's small floo roared with fire as the head of Draco Malfoy poked out of it. What had started off with a regular, friendly conversation, was now a rising argument between the wizard from the flames and the witch standing in front of them.

"And why the fuck not Parkinson?" Draco's face exclaimed, the fire only making it redder.

"I already _told_ you Draco! I can't!"

She had told Draco there was a possibility she couldn't attend his graduation ceremony due to the excessive travelling her boyfriend had to do. Draco had then told her she could miss just one of her multiple trips to watch him finish with flying colours and feel guilty she didn't. And of course, as the Slytherin she was, she had retorted that not only did he not attend her birthday party (it had been on January 19teenth, and Draco had told her he just couldn't ditch school on a Tuesday just to attend her birthday party), but her trip to Japan was going to last nine months.

"I haven't seen you for six months, and now you're telling me it'll be another nine? Pansy, the last time we saw each other was in my New Year's bloody party, and we didn't even talk properly. It's been practically a year since we last saw each other. You told me you were going in _March_. Won't your job as a journalist or whatever-you're-doing suffer too?"

"First, I _am_ a journalist, and no, as long as I send Japanese-related fashion articles, I will be okay. Secondly, we were supposed to go in March, but Kasper told me there was a change of plans. And lastly, I'm _sorry_ you sissy pants, but when I invited you to my birthday party, your Mudblooded-lover arse decided to go and snog off with your girlfriend instead of going!" Now she was getting angry.

"Do. Not. Say. That. Word." Draco said through clenched teeth. "And as I told _you_ before, even though we have a little more freedom, it's not like I could just go and ditch school! You don't have to go all jealous Pans."

" _Oh_ believe me!" She smirked, making a sign with her hand, "If I were jealous, you would _know_. My boyfriend satisfies me way more than you ever did, thank you. And I'm just stating facts, Mr Malfoy. Don't complain I can't go, because when I needed you, you weren't there!" She finished with a pout just as a low grunt was heard from the other side of the floo network.

"But it was a fucking birthday party! I believe the fact I'm finishing school is more important than just people getting pissed until they can't remember who shagged their brains out!" Draco exclaimed in annoyance.

"And how did you expect we celebrated? My last year's party wasn't fun in the least because the dim-witted Carrow brothers wouldn't let a soul have a good time in the castle. And you weren't there also!"

"You very well know why." He said somberly.

"Yeah, I know," Pansy replied with a lower tone. "It wasn't your fault the Dark Lord decided to take residence in your manor and wouldn't let you do anything." She sighed, "Anyway, I can't make it to your graduation party Draco, I'm sorry. I've asked Kasper at least three times in the last two weeks if we could postpone the trip for a couple of weeks, but he can't. He told me the first client we'll be visiting is peculiarly… proper. And we must stay as his guests the whole visit, meaning the first two months, so travel by portkey to another continent, let alone another town, would be considered highly crude." She explained.

"What did you say your boyfriend does?"

" I already told you!" Pansy whined.

"You told me in a letter written almost a year ago. My memory doesn't retain unimportant things." Draco replied.

"Ugh, fine. He has two jobs actually. He's head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation in the French ministry, while the other… well, you could say the other one is a more private business." She responded with a nervous laugh. "The business trip we'll make is from his department; this particular trip is in charge of the import and export of dangerous and rare potion materials to Japan. The other business he has deals with dragons and… exotic creatures." She finished, not wanting to reveal more. "Now that you mention it… I think Professor Snape might know him. Kasper told me that a few years back he did business with Hogwarts when they requested wolfsbane from Austria."

Draco responded with something ineligible, and Pansy could only grasp the last bit of swearing he did. "Are you alright? Did something happen between the two of you?" Pansy asked, her eyes (already trained in the art of reading other people's faces) pierced at him.

"No, I just got my leg bit by Granger's bloody furball," Draco replied, and Pansy rolled her eyes at him.

"I've known you ever since we were nine, I'm a Slytherin, and most importantly, I'm a _girl_. And you're expecting for me to believe such lousy excuse? You could do so much better."

"Pansy, _nothing_ happened. Could you please be less annoying and let it go?" Draco said in an exasperated tone, and Pansy let out a complaint.

"Fine! But if there is something, I will find out."

"Yeah, whatever you say," He replied, half listening to her.

"Ugh, you men are impossible! I feel pity for Granger now. I can't believe how she can stand you! One of the main reasons I knew nothing could ever happen between us is your temper."

"For your information, my temper had nothing to do with it. You just couldn't stand I prefer doing things that actually feed the brain, rather than destroy it."

"Suit yourself," She said rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I probably should go. I'll leave tomorrow evening, and I still have some packing left to do." She said, looking at her room.

"Very well. Goodbye Pansy, take care. And good luck."

"Goodbye."

Draco heavily sighed as he put out his head from the green fire. _Why must **he** have to be in almost every single aspect of my life?_ He angrily thought. _If it's not Granger, then it's at school, and if not, then Pansy has to mention him._ His life at the moment had been extremely gratifying until _he_ had to show up.

"Fuck him," He muttered to himself as he walked out from his common room, making his way towards the dungeons. _It's not really Granger's fault this all misfortune happened. I guess I can't really blame Snape too, for that matter._

* * *

 

Entering Slytherin's common room, many first and second years watched him with a mixture of admiration and uncertainty looks as he made his way to the boy's dorm.

"I can almost see the sparks of raw magic fuming from your head mate. Are you okay?" Blaise, who was laying on his bed, greeted him. His eyes momentarily leaving _The Quibbler_.

"You should ask that to yourself. Never would've pinned you mad enough to read _that_." Draco said, pointing his finger at the magazine.

"Not really my choice mate," Blaise responded with a sigh. "Luna invited me a couple of days in the summer to her house. She's excited because they renewed it. Although I believe she'll go and live on her own in a couple of months."

"Which means you're going to shag," Draco said smirking, and Blaise rolled his eyes.

"No, it means I have to read at least the last couple of issues from _The Quibbler_ , or else I will have nothing to impress her father about."

"So this means you're serious about her? Or at least, serious enough to meet her father I mean."

Blaise sighed and dropped the opened magazine over his face. "Yeah? I don't know. I _am_ sure I'm in love with her. She's a rare, beautiful bird. Her quirkiness drives me crazy, she's one of the most intelligent persons I've ever met, and that little, round arse or hers– " "Blaise, I get it. She fascinates you. Now, if you could, please continue…" Draco interrupted.

"Yeah, sorry. Well, I'm going to meet her father and… you've met him! He's the queerest bloke around town!"

"You could always enchant him with a gift. Money always makes a good impression on people." Draco remarked.

"You know as well as I do, that's not always true. Don't tell me Granger fell in love with you because of your fortune."

"Well no… as a matter of fact, now that I remember, she won't let me pamper her with gifts."

"And although Luna has told me her father indeed sold some articles from the Quibbler for some extra money, she has expressed to me money is in the least their primary interest."

"Very well, if you're serious about this, I can only tell you two things about it: If you ever thought Luna was mad, you haven't seen the definition of what madness is until you meet the man. And secondly, you, my friend," Draco said, clasping one hand on Blaise's shoulder, "Are fucked." He laughed, and Blaise slapped his hand away.

"Sod off!"

"You can't blame me. It's not my fault your girlfriend has a nutter as a father."

"You're lucky yours doesn't have parents at all," Blaise remarked.

"I know but, I can't help but feel guilty about it. Because in reality, she _does_ have parents, and very much alive. The only problem is they don't know they have a daughter."

"Oh, Bummer," Blaise said sarcastically, "At least they're not crazy then."

"I would very much hope so."

Just as Draco was leaving the boy's dorm, with the failed attempt of remembering why he came in the first place, Blaise called after him. "Hey mate! You forgot this in the Great Hall," He said, tossing him a letter. "I believe it's from your mother."

"Thanks," Draco said as he was leaving Slytherin's common room.

Walking down the almost-empty hallways of Hogwarts, he opened his mother's letter.

**_Draco,_ **

**_I can't even begin to express how excited I am to have you finally back home. Unfortunately, it won't be for at least another year until we can have your father back from Azkaban._ **

Draco had to stop and roll his eyes at the statement before continuing the letter,

_**And although he can still come to special occasions (such as last year's new year), with Auror supervision, the Ministry won't let him out to celebrate you're graduating from Hogwarts. And of course, it won't be until three more years to finally live in peace without any supervision nor house arrest from your father's part. Nevertheless, having you finally coming home is also one of my wishes. Now the manor won't feel as big and empty as it has been the past year (although I must admit, I much rather prefer living alone than with a party of Death Eaters). I'm sorry to bother you with such sentiments in my letter, but it has been months since we last spoke to each other, and I only can't wait to see you.** _

_**But the motif of this letter lays in the matter of your application to the Department of Mysteries. I don't know why you decided to tell them to send your letter of acceptance or rejection to me, but I'm glad to inform you, you have been accepted in whatever job it is that you applied there. The letter was almost empty save for your acceptance to the Department and the date in which you must present yourself to the Department.** _

_**P.S. I'm planning on organising a small dinner to celebrate your graduation once you come home. I'm sure you'll invite sweet Hermione. Such doll she is. I'm keen to see both of you.** _

_**Love,** _

_**Mum** _

Draco read twice his mother's letter, before tucking it into his pocket while he made his way towards his chambers. It was true he hadn't sent any letters to his mother in at least two months, but the stress from school and… other matters kept him busy enough to forget he had a mother who was worried sick for his well being. He felt guilty, and he knew her mother was sometimes resentful, but he was sure his graduation was enough for her to forget all about it. Draco felt happy with the thought he was accepted to be an Unspeakable. When he applied back in Easter holidays, they've told him if Draco were to be taken, he would receive a letter with petite information, to avoid any prying eyes to find out he was to be an Unspeakable. He requested for the letter to be sent to his mother, for he didn't entirely trust the school to be a place safe enough for a letter of acceptance to the Department of Mysteries to arrive. And he trusted his mother enough to know she would not pry if he asked her not to. She now knew better than to meddle in matters potentially dangerous.

Draco's mind wandered, and he couldn't help but sigh as he thought about Hermione. He certainly knew she loved him, she did. But he was also confident that even though if it wasn't precisely love, her affections towards his godfather weren't as indifferent and vague as she made him believe. He knew it wasn't her fault. Emotions couldn't be helped nor controlled. _Even though you think you love someone with all your soul, you may fall in love with someone else. It's your actions towards your feelings the final ones._ He sourly thought. And in the worst case scenario, if Hermione decided to stay with his godfather, he couldn't be mad at her. How could he? Her staying with Draco was, in reality, her going against nature, and Draco didn't know if he should be ashamed for not "forcing" Hermione to break up with him and be with the veela or be mesmerised by how deeply her affections ran towards him.

It was a full day of sighing for Draco.

* * *

"Can't know which smile is bigger, if Hermione's or Ginny's," Ron whispered to Harry on their last afternoon in the Gryffindor's common room, before departing the morning after to their respective homes.

Surprising only herself and any student who didn't know her, Hermione achieved a total of ten "Outstanding" in her N.E.W.T.s, not only making her best of her year, but it also remarked the fact she finally beat her "worst" subject: D.A.D.A.

On the other hand, Ginny's excessive Quidditch practice and bossy attitude towards the whole team made them win the last Quidditch match against Ravenclaw. With a final score of 380-220, and the almost the entire school attending, Ginny couldn't say anything else but, "Gwenog Jones congratulated me. She saw _me_ play. She saw us win.", for the next couple of hours after they'd won, and her smile couldn't be erased off her mouth even after weeks had passed since the last match.

"Oh shush it, Ron. I just can't believe I finally got over my fear against the Dark Arts." Hermione replied, looking with shiny eyes her grades.

"Or maybe you're just lucky you didn't have to confront your boggart again." Harry laughed, and Hermione only pierced her eyes at him.

"You've been holding onto that piece of paper for hours! I don't think your grades might change if you just put it away in your trunk." Ron chuckled. N.E.W.T.s, different from O.W.L.s, were taken weeks before, so everybody had already their grades before they left school.

"I just want to look at them a little longer," Hermione replied. When their grades arrived the night before, she had celebrated with a bottle of Firewhiskey alongside Draco in their common room, both scoring nothing less than "O" in all of their subjects; Hermione in ten, and Draco in seven. Their little celebration ended too early, as Hermione escaped to her bedroom before Draco got any hornier than he already was. But even in their mirth, Hermione was a little sad her parents would never know one of her biggest dreams had come true. That is, until the day she recovered their memories. With a slight hangover, she'd spent the next day packing and celebrating with her friends.

"I just can't wait to return home and start practising Quidditch," Ginny chirped, seating herself in Harry's legs, who was sitting on the couch munching on some candy.

"I thought you've already had enough Quidditch for a while, seeing you've done nothing but practice these past months and the fact you won the Cup," Neville commented biting into a jelly slug.

"I thought I already told you– Oh, I keep forgetting you didn't enter until January Neville," Ginny said grabbing a jelly slug from Neville's candy, "I'll audition to play with the Holyhead Harpies. Tryouts will be held in October, and if I'm in, I'll start playing with them in January."

" _When_ you're in." Harry corrected her with a grin as he took a bite from the jelly slug Ginny had hung out from her mouth.

"I'll just pretend I didn't see that." Ron said grimacing at the sight of the couple, and tried to change the conversation, "Neville," He turned to the tallest of his friends, "You'll still stick with the Aurors yeah?"

"I think I will, yeah." Neville nodded. "After a year worth of Auror training, I only have two to go. I've found it pretty fulfilling and entertaining, besides the fact that it leaves me still with enough time to dedicate myself to my Herbology apprenticeship."

"Right, I keep forgetting you already have more than seven months ahead of us with the training. Good thing for Kingsley to let us start Auror training early. These past months under Lupin's guidance have been harsh, but it certainly gave us a head start." Harry said.

"Normal Auror training is pretty similar to what Lupin has been teaching us. The only difference is being given more dangerous tasks and longer work hours."

"But with the Auror training and your apprenticeship, will there be any time for Hannah?" Ron inquired, engulfing a chocolate frog.

"Ronald!" Hermione slapped him with a nearby newspaper, "You can't just ask him that!"

"It's fine Hermione. Ron's the third person asking today. The other two being Hannah's friends," Neville chuckled, "We've talked about it, and even though she'll take a temporary part-time job at the Leaky Cauldron, she'll also begin training with a mediwitch in a couple of months. She wants to be a healer." Neville explained, "I told her it wouldn't be a problem to me if we didn't see each other every day, and she should know I care deeply for her, and she told me the feeling is mutual. So if everything goes according to plan, we'll rent a flat together as of beginnings of October and… well, I've planned until there." He laughed nervously.

"But won't you grandmother fret-" "-Over the idea of living with a woman I've only been dating for half a year and who isn't blood-related to me or with my wife?" Neville finished for Harry. "Yes, she will. But ever since the war ended, Gran's been way more relaxed than before, and I've been living on my own ever since last year, so I'm hoping for the best. Besides, who knows what the future might bring, maybe she'll someday be Mrs Hannah Longbottom." Neville said with a small smile, a deep blush caressing his cheekbones.

"Oh Neville, I think it's brilliant!" Hermione exclaimed, beaming at Neville. Although she too thought his decision to move in so quickly with Hannah was a little precipitated, Hermione was happy to see Neville had overcome most of his shyness and insecurity after the war. She remembered seeing him on the anniversary of the war's banquet held in the castle, happily holding, by the waist, Hannah. It had been a joyful day to many, and a grieving day to others. Almost everyone present had either an acquaintance, a friend or a family member who had died either in the battle or throughout the whole war. Some of the Order members were present at the banquet too. Remus was one of the most affected, having lost not only his wife but also his first love and the mother of his child. Hermione had then thought how sad it must've been, first losing all your best friends, and after all those years of being in solitude, his first and true love, to be taken away so abruptly in the war. Nevertheless, she was happy he had Teddy, and she hoped he would be able to find love again. But nonetheless, she was glad for Neville, one of the very few people who had favoured (at least mentally), from the war.

 _One of the few good things the war brought, I guess._ Hermione thought.

* * *

 

A simple, disillusionment charm did the trick. Although the dungeons became one of the most uninhabited parts of the castle after the war (Slytherin was "strangely" the emptiest house), many would determine her walking down the dungeons somewhat odd, given that it was the day Hogwarts Express departed.

Even though they were days away from summer, the dungeons were still cold, and she had to wrap her arms around herself to keep warm. She thought about entering his office from the Potions classroom, it was mere meters away from where she was standing, but then again, being found by other student or staff would only lead to uncomfortable questions, so she decided to use one of the backdoors leading to his office.

While it wasn't the main entrance to his office, she'd spent the last year going to several meetings, and it would seem rather odd from her part to be receiving "remedial potion classes". And since it was the only excuse she could think of, answering the why of her constant visits to the headmaster's potion's office, she was given an alternate route, much more discrete and quicker to his office.

Meters away from the door of his office, she could already sense the mixed emotions passing through her veins, almost as if they were hers. Anxiety, worry, and a touch of excitement prevailed on her as she walked all the way from the narrow passage between a broom closet and his office.

Standing just outside his door, she couldn't help but take a sharp breath wondering, with an uneasy feeling, what would happen. They both knew she was just outside his door, but not wanting to appear too eager, he gave her the pleasure of knocking. Two knocks were heard at the door of the Potions Master's office, and with a loud click and creak, he opened the door, letting her in.

"Miss Granger." The baritone voice of Severus Snape said in greet.

"Professor Snape," she said somberly, walking inside of his office with some doubt.

"What's the purpose of your visit if I may ask? I would think you'd already be joyfully celebrating with your _friends_ your last hour before you leave Hogwarts." He sneered at her.

"I believe _sir_ , we'd already had a previous appointment to meet today. I would think your memory is as good as your cynicism to be able to remember that much." She responded, unafraid, with the same sharp tone he gave her. She had enough of his cynism throughout the year to be able and stand his play-along any longer.

Several moments of silence passed between the wizard and the witch, both of them looking deep into each other's eyes, never looking away. He was debating if he should respond to her boldness, or if he should let it pass.

"Severus please," Hermione sighed, tired of their much-too-long pregnant pause, "Drop the mask. We'll never see each other again." She said lowering her eyes, ignoring the pang of sudden sadness running through her.

"Care for a cup of tea, _Miss Granger?_ " He stated in the most monotonous voice he had.

"If you please, yes." She said and proceeded to sit in one of his, all-too-known-for-her, chairs in the small dining room, adjacent to his office. They both drank their tea silently, Severus's gaze never leaving his cup of tea, while Hermione's couldn't take away hers from her potions professor.

"Miss Granger, it's unnerving having to stand your constant stare-" "-Oh please!" Hermione interrupted him, standing up. "You know as well as I do, I can feel your emotions as you can feel mine. Don't even think about making this whole deal as if last year didn't happen." She said, her cheeks flushed with anger.

"But I thought that's what _you_ wanted." He placed his cup on the table, and standing up; he could see her flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes.

"I… Please don't make this harder than it already is." She whispered lowering her eyes to the floor, ignoring the intense stare of the black orbs. "I came here to say goodbye."

Severus walked towards her, and with the most delicacy, he removed her hair from her shoulders, uncovering her neck. Hermione flinched but remained still at his touch. A wandless spell was all he needed for him to see the fang marks, now scars, on her neck, previously covered by a glamour.

"Do you regret it?" He suddenly said, after a few minutes of silence, his fingertips barely touching her white scar. She shivered at his touch, but it somehow comforted her.

"I… don't kn- no. No, I don't." She finally said, shaking her head, giving in to what she honestly felt.

"I'm not proud of it. Losing control like that was never my intention, and even less putting you through it." Severus continued and removed his hand from her skin, Hermione ignoring the disappointment in her from the lack of touch. "But I must admit I would've preferred if you didn't glamour it."

"And then what? People pay attention, Severus. It's not cold anymore for me to keep wearing scarves and turtlenecks. And as much as I hate it, after the war, Harry hasn't been the only one being the spot of attention. And you should know it too. Besides," She said caressing with her hand her neck scars, "I don't feel comfortable knowing everybody can see it. When I look at myself in the mirror, I…"

"You feel ashamed of what happened." He finished for her.

"N-no! That's not it; it's just that-" "-Don't lie to me, woman. I can feel it. Your remorse, your _shame_. You tell me you don't regret it and yet, you can't even stand looking at it!" Now he was angry. Hermione could almost feel her blood boiling with the anger Severus was emitting. He walked to the other side of the room, and looked out the only window his office and chambers provided; the pitch-dark depths of the Black Lake could be seen from there.

"It's complicated," She whispered to him after she felt his anger subside a little bit. "I'm not going to lie, the bite you gave me wasn't only a bonding element, but it also made me feel physically fine. I'm not saying it would've been what I most desired in the world, but it somehow felt… right. And I knew, even though I was half conscious and freezing to death, that I wanted nothing more but make that moment everlasting." She said in a low tone, slowly walking until she was just behind Severus.

"I never meant to hurt you, Severus." She stated in a cracked voice, and he finally turned to look at her.

"It was never your fault for you to be my mate."

"You love me." She suddenly said, looking straight into his black eyes.

"And how does that make _you_ feel?"

"I honestly don't know. Confused, overwhelmed, and somehow futile because I-" "You feel something else, Hermione. I know because I can feel it, and don't you try to deny it. Yes, it wasn't your fault for you to be my mate. It's also not your fault you feel helpless because of your involvement with my godson," Hermione could feel the pang of sudden hurt he felt, "and yes, you loving him is not something I can control. You've loved him even before I realised you were my mate."

A few minutes passed before she heard him gulp and he continued, "All my hopes of finally finding true love had already been buried deep in the depths of my despair. But then, you arrived." He said, and he cupped her cheek. It was the most gentle he'd ever been to Hermione, and she knew this was all Severus Snape, not a different entity residing within him, but he, the professor who'd been nasty to her and her friends ever since her first year. He, the spy who more than half the Order despised, never believing him until after the war ended. He, the man who had been desperately and obsessively in love with Harry's mum, a man Hermione knew was capable of loving and a man who would do _anything_ for love.

"There's no reason to cry." He said with a soft and silky voice, wiping with his thumb a lonely crystal tear rolling from her eyes. He lowered himself so he could be eye level with her and said, "I'm so happy you could find love at such young age, Hermione. They say that finding your one true love is a rare thing. A scarce and magnificent thing. It's something so pure and yet so ardent; you feel your whole body burning with anticipation at the mere sight of that person. Finding it at such age, only defines how big one's soul is. And it's such a shame I found it almost at forty." He said with melancholy, the last part only a mere whisper.

Hermione was silently crying over Severus' words, her heart torn, "If my words upset you, I'll stop." He said, "It excruciates and tortures me to have and feel you're only feeling pain."

"I'm confused," She said through a cracked voice. "Severus…" she whispered getting closer to him, "Show me you love me." She finished with a whisper so soft and delicate, Severus wouldn't have heard if it were not for his heightened veela senses.

Sensing she was anxious and afraid he slowly, yet carefully, got closer inch by inch until the small gap between them closed and his lips brushed against hers.

With the softness of evening sun and the delicacy of a rose petal, Severus kissed Hermione on the lips, almost hesitantly. After some hesitation, she finally returned the kiss, and he deepened it. Full of devotion and love, he kissed her as if they were no tomorrow. The kiss was tender, but it was full of passion and adoration.

Severus remembered his first kiss, a sloppy, dull and tasteless experience. He had just received the dark mark, and as a present, Voldemort had given him the "pleasure" of fucking a young, Muggle girl just before she was killed. It was his first time having sex, and he'd kissed the young lass, hopelessly and pathetically trying to feel or even _mimic_ what it felt being loved. After the depressing experience, he decided he would reserve himself from kissing any girl he didn't love. Of course, years later he vaguely remembered kissing a prostitute when he was more than just plastered with alcohol and other drugs.

But this kiss felt like everything he'd ever hoped it to be, and more. It wasn't only the sweet seduction of the kiss slowly filling his mind with desire and fervour, but he felt there was love in it as well. The sweet taste of her lips combined with the saltiness of her tears made him hunger for more.

He grazed her soft curls with one hand while the other gently grasped her lower back fully enveloping her with him. Her small hands, after moments of precipitation, got enough courage and caressed his hair. Hermione felt like nothing she'd felt before. The kiss was so intense and yet so gentle; she couldn't think properly when he pressed his lips against hers. She couldn't exactly compare it to kissing Draco because it was a whole different sensation, and she was also afraid of what would happen if she _did_ compare them. He lovingly stroked her neck, his hand going from her neck and collarbone all the way to her arms, his hand grasping her small hand touching his face.

He broke the kiss as gently as he started it, and he stared into her eyes, a little sigh coming out from her lips. He looked at her and saw her dilated pupils, her flushed cheeks with the rosy glow he much adored. Her lazy, silky curls were a bit dishevelled from the kiss, and her parted lips were swelled, and they reminded Severus of fresh, juicy strawberry, ready to be eaten.

Hermione saw Severus with eyes she'd never seen him before, and it confused her. His face was also flushed, and even though he still had pale, sallow skin, she could see a faint trace of a blush on his cheekbones. His deep dark eyes were bright obsidian, and for the first time, she didn't feel afraid, but entranced by them.

They stood looking at each other, their ragged breathing the only audible sound in the room. Words running dry, several moments passed between the two, and Hermione's body was suddenly pushed not-so-gently against the nearest wall, and Severus was kissing her again, only that this time it was with more fervour and unhidden lust than the last one.

His kisses began to be more fierce and desperate. Desperate of the fear of being torn away from her. Bodies entwining together, they became defenceless and silent beings, consumed by the restrained, yet ardent flames of yearning. Hearing the sweet and intoxicating sound of her moaning, he pressed hard against her, trying to feel and make the moment abiding. Hermione felt his member pressing against her thigh, and she moaned, becoming putty in his arms. Severus kissed her jaw and proceeded to embrace and kiss her neck, wanting to hear more of her alluring sounds. The sweet-smelling scent of her arousal consuming him.

"Stay with _me_." He whispered into her earlobe, his fangs already sticking out to bite into his mate once more. He would've lost control over his senses and bite her if it wasn't for the sudden feeling of being torn apart he felt, returning him back to reality. With all his might and effort, he withdrew from her neck and faced his mate, her face full of doubt, and her eyes started to tear up with lucid tears. It was obvious his statement had caused a distraught on the witch, for she looked as if she were petrified. She looked up at him and tried to shake her head. "I-I didn't mean…" She started but was silenced by a kiss on her forehead.

"I understand." Was all he said before stepping slightly away from her.

"Hermione." Cupping her face with both of his hands he told her softly, "You make me sick," feeling the sudden sadness in her, "Because I love you so." He finished. "And I also know how you're feeling about me, but I can't force you to understand it, knowing these feelings will hopefully soon pass. You'll forget about me, and you'll live happily at the side of Draco."

"But…" She said, unable to finish.

"I understand you're confused. It's only natural your feelings have changed over the course of time, as it is also natural you'll learn to forget easily with my absence and the passing of time." He said and slowly walked to his office and retrieved something from a counter.

"And what if I don't want to forget? _What if I don't want you to go?"_ She blurted out loud, and he turned his head to look at her.

"Will you, Hermione Jean Granger," He said, using her full name "Be willing to sacrifice and forget any future with young Draco Malfoy?" She looked solemnly at him without saying a word; the only thing expressing her feelings were the deep and intense emotions of distraught and sorrow Severus felt in his veins, blood and heart.

"I-I love him," She admitted, her voice cracking. She was feeling a pang of guilt over the selfishness she was portraying with traces of a feeling she didn't quite understand.

"I know you do," He muttered, grabbing a piece of her back hair with one hand. "And that's why," He said and with a pair of scissors, cut the strand of hair he was holding. "I need this bit of your hair. To be able and successfully create the potion." He said, placing her strand of curls in a silver box. He then again, went to retrieve something from his office.

"Wait, you're still not thinking of…?" She said with tears now falling freely from her eyes, adorning her face.

"And what else do you suggest me to do Hermione?" He said returning, a sad smile on his lips. "You leave me no choice, my _love_ ," He said, and before she could even say anything, he told her, "Goodbye." And placed a small object in her hand, and not only one second passed, and she was in her room.

Looking at her surroundings, she saw the broken pendant Severus used to wear before and realised he converted it into a portkey.

Half an hour away from their departure, Hermione sat on her bed clutching with one hand the pendant, and felt a pain in her chest, while silent tears betrayed her eyes, not yet processing the fact she would never see him again.

**_October 1999_ **

Living with Harry in Grimmauld Place was nothing new to Hermione with the sole exception, there was not only Kreacher living in it too, but the food was far more wholesome than in the many months they were on the run. And she also had her own bedroom. The three of them fell into a cooking routine, having them all knowing only bits of cooking and Hermione's complaints to Kreacher of him not having to do everything in the house, as Harry and she both had hands to do the food. But they were also grateful Mrs Weasley would come ever so often and cook something for them, or every now and then when there was a dinner in the Burrow, they would take the leftovers (if there were any) back home.

As 12 Grimmauld Place also served as a safe house for the Order, they consistently welcomed visits either to receive a member order to stay the night (their most frequent visitor being Lupin), an Order meeting, or even a friendly get-together. Besides Ron and Remus with Teddy, their respective partners were the ones who usually hung around the house. At first, having Draco over to dinner, or even to stay in the afternoon had caused a problem between him and Harry, their crummy background between the two stopping them from being nice to each other. The tension building up every time he came had to be stopped by Hermione, who felt like a mother scolding her children, when she had to talk to both of about their behaviour towards the other, and that finally seemed to appease the situation.

She was happy it had somehow worked out because every once in a while she would hear Draco say _"I saw Potter today at the Ministry,"_ or Harry say _"I don't know what's Malfoy working on, but we crossed paths at lunch time and decided to eat together."_ She knew they weren't and may never be the best of friends, but after months of seeing each other so regularly, they began to treat each other in a friendlier manner.

The same happened with Draco's friends as well as Harry and Hermione's. Since Luna was dating Blaise, it wasn't so uncommon to see him around every time Luna came over. She loved to play with Lupin's son as well as hanging with Ginny and Hermione; in the end, they were her first female friends, so she valued their friendship more than ever. Draco too sometimes invited Blaise over when Hermione told him Harry had invited them with drinks alongside Neville, Luna, Ginny and Ron. So even though they'd never thought before of befriending each other, the eight youngsters got along pretty well after months of hanging together.

Hermione, true to her elf association, known as S.P.E.W., applied and started working at the Ministry. She worked in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, under the division of Beings, more specifically in the Office for House-Elf Relocation. Although she felt she was doing some good to Elf society, trying to propose some ideas to aid the elves, she was seriously thinking about changing to the Office of Werewolf Support Services, as she hated to see Remus' everyday struggle with the prejudices society imposed on werewolves.

Draco, on the other hand, had begun working as an Unspeakable, and although he would sometimes tell Hermione little bits about his days, she didn't pry for more details, not wanting to endanger his job. He also began working on a new manor for her mother to live in. Although he was currently living with her, he told Hermione he was planning on building himself a new manor when he got a little older.

 _"It's not that I don't want to live with my mother, because I know how lonely she can get, and I love her to death. But I want to build a manor for my family, and even though she loves kids, I know she would prefer to live alone rather than with small kids running in the hallways. Besides, my father gets out of prison in a year, and I wouldn't like raising my children anywhere near him."_ Hermione had then remembered how nervous she was at Draco mentioning a family and children.

Mid-October came, and Hermione found herself lying comfortably in one of the drawing room's sofas, reading a book. It was a Friday afternoon, and almost everyone had the day off, so Harry and Hermione decided to invite everyone to dinner. Ginny was at the tryouts for the Holy Head Harpies, Neville told them he couldn't come because he'd already promised Hannah they would have dinner with her parents, Fred and George were overloaded with work and told them they would be there the next time, Draco was still at work, Harry and Ron were in the kitchen with Remus, and that left Hermione in the drawing room with Luna and Teddy.

"You sure like children Luna." Remus commented hearing Luna's giggles at Teddy as he walked in, a glass of dragon barrel brandy in hand.

"Oh yes. I've never had the opportunity to interact much with them before, as my only family is my father and aunt; her only son drowned when I was only four. She didn't know the father." She said nonchalantly, and Hermione and Remus shared a look before Luna continued, "And ever since I babysat the children of one of my father's friends years ago, I decided I love them. I can't wait to have my own." She said beaming at young Teddy, who was playing on the floor with a toy hippogriff.

"Don't mention that to Blaise just yet." Hermione joked, "Or you might just scare him!" She said, and Remus laughed.

"Oh, I'm not planning on telling him that. It was enough the meeting with my father to have him scared enough." She sighed, remembering the first time Blaise met him, "I'm lucky he still wants to date me." She said, touching the rosebud earrings Blaise gave her on her birthday.

"Then he must really care about you if you say your father scared him so," Remus noted, and Hermione nodded in agreement. "Where is he by the way?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, he's still at work-" "-I'm here!" The cheerful voice of Ginny Weasley interrupted her as she got out from the fireplace in sweaty, Quidditch robes. "How did it go?" The voice of Harry Potter suddenly appeared out of nowhere and in a blink of an eye, he was embracing Ginny. "Harry! I'm all dirty and sweaty!" She sighed in frustration as her wizard didn't seem to care in the least and continued to hug her. "You know I don't give a damn about it." He said giving her a peck on the lips. "Now, how'd it go?"

"Let me first take a shower, and I'll tell you all the details," She said smiling, making her way to the bedrooms.

Minutes later, Draco and Blaise came in from the Ministry. Harry and Ron weren't official Aurors yet, and their "working" and training hours happened to be variant, but that afternoon they coincided with Hermione with their afternoon off, contrasting with Blaise and Draco who had to work over hours, Draco as an Unspeakable and Blaise in the Department of Magical Transportation, applying Apparition Tests.

They all ate Sheperd's pie, a dish Luna had to do mostly all by herself, seeing the abysmal cooking skills from both Harry and Hermione (she was seriously considering taking cooking lessons). At the table, Luna was feeding Teddy, who changed his golden brown hair to the green colour of the peas and couldn't stop beaming at him, Draco and Blaise discussed some work affairs they could do together, and Ginny was telling the others her audition for the Holyhead Harpies.

"They almost said I could only audition to for the part of keeper, because they already had the possible next players for the other positions until Gwenog came and told the others she'd seen me play as a chaser at the match against Ravenclaw, and that I was easily the best from the other finalists." She said excitedly, "So I played with the last group of the day, and even though results will be posted in the next two weeks, they practically told me, in the end, I was already in." She chirped, and they all made a toast in her name.

After dinner they were all gathered in the drawing room, they were either chatting, drinking, or doing something entirely different. Hermione was washing some of the dishes the Muggle way (a habit she gathered from the years) when she overheard Harry talking to Draco near the kitchen door.

"… she hasn't eaten very well lately. And I've already asked her about it, but she always brushes me away." Harry was saying to Draco. "I believe her parents absence is affecting her more as time passes by."

Although her parents' absence was in part, the reason for her late, blue humour, they weren't the only reason. Not wanting to worry her friends, she'd told them Severus had found a cure, and he left. She knew they didn't buy it very well, Draco even less, but they didn't pry on it. As long as Severus Snape wasn't present, he wasn't a problem, so they didn't pay much mind to it. All for the exception of Draco.

Hermione remembered with bitterness the memory of months ago, recalling the feelings of guilt she'd had with the news Fleur had told her days after their graduation from Hogwarts. She had then spent the following weeks trying to send Severus letters, but they all came back within days, unopened. She decided to bury the feelings she'd been harbouring for Severus the past year and follow his life advice: Live hers happily. Although she knew her life couldn't be entirely fulfilled with the absence of her parents (and the absence of someone whose memory she decided to push further the back of her mind), Hermione had thought she was happy. Apparently not.

_Some days after her departure from Hogwarts, Molly Weasley decided to make a dinner in celebration of Ginny, Hermione, Harry and Ron graduating from Hogwarts. Hermione was surprised at first with Mrs Weasley's invitation, deducing the witch would have an everlasting grudge against her, for breaking her son's heart. But seeing she was almost as happy as Ginny with Harry dating her, she suspected all was forgiven, and she was treated like a daughter once more. Just after dessert, when everyone was chatting happily in the living room, Fleur Weasley motioned for Hermione to come with her outside for a minute, to talk about how she was dealing with the veela._

_"But you said… 'e takes a potion?" Fleur asked her cautiously, with eyes of concern after Hermione explained her the whole story again, and the why she wasn't already bonded with him._

_Hermione felt nervous under her stare, but decided to tell her truth; she was too, a terrible liar for that matter._

_"Yes. He said he's planning on taking a trip to Rumania; his purpose is to develop a potion strong enough to inhibit his veela blood long enough to live a "normal" life until he dies." She said, and Fleur's eyes widened._

_"'E can't do that! 'E'll die!" Fleur exclaimed with distress, and Hermione couldn't feel more guilty. "'Ermione, do you realise you've practically sent 'im to 'is death?"_

_"I told him I didn't want him to go, okay?" She snapped. "I did. And he basically ignored me by telling me this was for the best."_

_"Even though this "new" potion as 'e calls eet, will diminish 'is instincts, eet won't change 'is feelings for you. And eet might accelerate the process of 'is death. Being too much time away from the mate ez not good for a veela. And eet is even worse if the time away ez outside of the country. Quarter-veela or full-veela, they're both affected by eet."_

Snapping out from her memory she heard Draco say, "I promised her we would look for her parents once school was over, but she keeps avoiding the topic every time I mention it." Hermione felt guilty. In truth, she still didn't want to look for her parents. Not because she didn't love them or didn't miss them, but the news about the remaining Death Eaters killing Muggle-Borns and blinding random wizards were getting more prominent as time passed by. And even though Kingsley still managed to keep it secret to the general public, people were starting to notice something wasn't right. Hermione didn't want to risk it and lose her parents by making them a target, so the thought of returning their memories didn't appeal her so much. She preferred having them not knowing her for a little longer rather than having them dead.

Night came, and just as she was getting to bed, she heard a knock on her door. "Harry?" She said as she saw a pair of bright green eyes looking at her from her half-opened door.

"I wanted to talk to you," He said, entering her room. "I thought Ginny had stayed over…" She said. "She's asleep now, besides, it'll be quick," He told her, sitting on her bed. "Well then, what did you wanted to talk about?" She asked also sitting on her bed, already knowing the answer.

"Hermione… I'm worried. And it's not just me, Malfoy has noticed it too, and even Ginny. We know you obliviated your parents to keep them safe but… we also know you're missing them. And it's not doing you any good."

"Harry, you don't know how much I think about them. Every single day I always wonder why don't I just go to Australia and remove the charm. Every. Single. Day. And I too, think every single day, the danger they might be in if I do that."

"Harry," She said, taking his hand in hers. "There are still Death Eaters roaming through the country, killing people. And you know as well as I do, they won't hesitate a second to make them a target just because of my relation to you. I'm afraid they'll _die_." She said with a trembling voice. "'Mione," Harry said, placing his other hand over their linked hands squeezing them, "Kingsley is Minister of Magic. You know him as well as I do. We could protect your parents even better than we tried in the war. You don't have to suffer anymore." He said tenderly, and after a pregnant pause, she nodded. "I-I'll talk to Draco in the morning." She said and looked up at him, her eyes suddenly filled with tears. She threw her arms around Harry and began to sob. "Harry I miss them so much, I think about them every day. It's torture Harry, torture!"

"I know 'Mione, I know." He said rubbing her back.

* * *

The windy and humid air of Sydney is what received Hermione and Draco as they arrived there. It was much warmer and sunny than in England, and they couldn't help but remove their coats when they stepped out from the wizard's store from which they arrived.

After her talk to Draco, the morning after she broke into tears in Harry's arms, Draco and she embarked in their trip to restore her parent's memories. They walked hand in hand through the streets of Sydney until they came to a little sweets shop on a small street, close to the coast. **_"Granger's sweet shop"_** was the name of the little store and Hermione couldn't help the chuckle at the irony. _They're going to flip once I restore their memories and find out what they did for a living here._ She thought.

"You know I love you right?" Draco said to her, kissing her temple just before they entered and Hermione looked at him with loving eyes. "I love you more," She told her and gave him a peck.

They entered the little store at the same time, and Hermione couldn't stop herself but take in a sharp breath at the sight of both of her parents, happy and well after two years of not seeing them. Mr and Mrs Granger both looked up with curiosity at the entering pair, and they welcomed them in.

 _"Mum? Dad?"_ She whispered to them.

* * *

 


	19. Facing Reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the tardiness, I already had this chapter but I was terribly busy this week so I barely had time now to update it.
> 
> I also wanted to apologise in advance because it's very possible I don't make any updates until the 20 or 21 of this month. I'm going away in a two-week vacation and I won't have access to my laptop so I won't be able to update. If I do have access to any device, I might update in a week or so, but I won't make any promises. Sorry.  
> Also, I have the next chapter done, but it hasn't been proofread nor edited and I've already caught up with my writing, so updates will be varying from a week to a week and a half but I already have drafts from the next 2-3 chapters ahead so don't worry. I take a lot of time because even though I love writing, I really don't like grammar mistakes and I proofread my chapters like crazy so that takes a couple of days, besides the writing part.
> 
> Moving on from that, I really appreciate all of you who are reading this story and for giving it kudos, bookmarks and comments! I really do. And lastly, if any of you is Australian, please tell me if I'm terribly wrong, I don't live in Australia and I only looked up their government, but as I say, I don't know for sure.
> 
> Sorry for the long note, but hope you enjoy this chapter :)

* * *

 

Mr And Mrs Granger both looked curiously at the strange couple who had just entered their sweet shop with smiles on their faces.

"I'm sorry dear?" Helen Granger said, not entirely sure of what Hermione had said, and her husband just nodded at them before entering back further into the shop.

"I-I meant to say-" Hermione stuttered a bit, and Draco continued, "My girlfriend and I just arrived, and we're always craving for something sweet whenever we travel, and we happened to bump into your shop. We were just surprised at the number of sweets there are" Draco said courteously flashing a white smile at Helen Granger, and she smiled at him in return, blushing ever so slightly at how courteous Draco was being and Hermione sighed in relief. She made a mental note about thanking Draco later. "Oh, You're from England! So are my husband and me, what a coincidence! Wendell!" She called and went inside the back door of the shop.

"I thought your father's name was Robert," Draco whispered at Hermione furrowing his eyebrows. "It is, but I couldn't risk their safety by keeping their names, we may already be at peril by coming here. They're Monica and Wendell Wilkins for now." She whispered back.

"Hullo!" Robert Granger saluted them as he got out, along with his wife, from the back door of the shop. "Wendell Wilkins at your service," He said extending his hand towards Draco. "Draco Malfoy," he said, shaking his hand, "Pleased to meet you, sir."

"Draco Malfoy, such… an interesting and uncommon name I must say. Pleasure." Robert said, smiling at Draco. "And this is my lovely wife, Monica." He gestured with his arm at the woman, with eyes just like Hermione's, at his right and she smiled warmly at them.

"And you are?" Mrs Granger said to Hermione.

"I-I'm Hermione Granger." She said after several seconds trying to find her voice, smiling softly at the couple. Robert chuckled. "Such a small world isn't it? The last owner's name was Granger, and since he was the one who built this place, we didn't have the heart to name it "Wilkins' sweet shop"." Robert explained putting an arm around his wife's shoulders, missing the look of dismay on Hermione's face. "Besides, I believe Granger is a more catchy name than Wilkins don't you think?" He said, and Helen barely nodded, her mind elsewhere.

"Hermione…." Helen said, drifting her eyes as if remembering something, "I always thought of naming my daughter Hermione if I ever had one." She said smiling rather sadly to herself and then turned to Robert, an idea sprouting in her head. "Wendell dear, why don't we invite Hermione and Mr Malfoy some tea?" She said and turned to smile at the couple, forgetting to use any formalities with Hermione. "My husband and I are both tea lovers; we're especially fond of-" _Earl Grey,_ Hermione silently mouthed to herself, following her mother through the door behind the counter.

The door led to a back room where Helen guided Draco and Hermione in. The little room had a small, round table with five chairs, a small bookcase in a corner with a few books on it, a counter with a small telly and few other miscellaneous stuff -varying from a car keys to magazines to a sewing kit- on it, and there were also two more doors, leading deeper into the building, on each side of the walls. _One of them must be the loo_ Hermione thought, seating herself in one of the chairs, while her mother offered them tea.

The conversation went nicely enough even though Hermione couldn't shake away the sentiment of chasm her parents provoked in her entirely. It wasn't only bizarre, but also a little sad, having to introduce yourself to the ones who gave birth to you and many years of their time. But nevertheless, this experience made Hermione know for a fact, her parents were genuinely good people. They seemed a little suspicious at first when Draco introduced himself, for it was true, his name wasn't remotely common nor heard in the Muggle world, and his last name even less, coming from an ancient magical family. Nonetheless, Hermione felt mostly nervous and happy, to finally see them again.

As Draco excused himself to use the loo and Mr Granger went to attend some customers, Mrs Granger turned towards Hermione smiling affectionately, and for a second, Hermione almost forgot she'd obliviated them both, and she was in Australia to retrieve not only them but their memories as well. "Your husband seems to enjoy his job," Hermione said with a nervous smile, trying not to look too uncomfortable. "Oh bless him," Her mother replied with a smile, "I love that everything he does, he does it with love." She smiled at Hermione, and she couldn't help but lower her eyes at her hands.

"I rather get the feeling I've known you from somewhere, Miss Granger." Helen said after seconds of silence, taking a sip from the cup, missing the sudden paleness the young witch presented on her features, "Any chance we'd met in England before? My husband and I used to live in Bristol up until two years ago when we both had the brilliant idea of moving here to Sydney." She said warmly, and Hermione drank –or rather drowned- hastily the remains of her tea while shaking her head sideways.

"I don't think so," she said gulping, "I'm from Devon." She said trying to sound convincing, the Burrow first coming into her mind, and hoping her mother would fall for it.

"Oh." Was the only thing the older woman responded, and Hermione could almost swear she caught a glimpse of disappointment in her eyes. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and as she looked up, she saw Draco seating himself again in the chair next to her, smiling politely at her mother.

"I believe I now know why the stereotype exists. Look at us, as true English people!" Her mother suddenly exclaimed, startling both Hermione and Draco "Not even half an hour has passed, and we're all out of tea! I better bring some more. Just wait here a few minutes and tea will be ready." She said, wiping her cheeks as if she had cried, and carried the cup tray to one of the adjacent rooms further inside the shop; _the kitchen_ Hermione presumed.

"How are you feeling?" Draco murmured, pressing a gentle kiss on her temple while intertwining his fingers with her trembling ones.

"I'm… doing decisively finer than I thought I would." She said squeezing a bit his fingers, "But I can't deny this is rather odd. I never would've thought to introduce myself as a complete _stranger_ to my parents, or to stomach the image of them not even recognising her daughter and be living happily without her." Her eyes began to water and taking a deep breath; she closed her eyes.

"Don't be so harsh on yourself love," Draco reassured her, "They're not happy because their lives would be _better_ without you, they're happy because they think they never had a daughter. Once you remove the charm, believe me," He said and raised her chin to make her look at his eyes, "their smiles will only grow."

"Thank you, Draco. You've been really helpful today. I don't know what would I've done by myself." Her lips broke into a small smile, and a single tear rolled down her cheeks. "One more thing, though," she wiped the tear away, "I also can't shake away the feeling of someone watching us."

"Would you be more comfortable if I send a patronus to Potter?" He asked retrieving his wand from his pocket.

"Draco put it away! You know we can't do magic in the presence of Muggles!" Hermione said in a panicky whisper, "And why would you send a patronus to Harry?" She asked with mild curiosity in her tone, wondering too, when exactly had he learned how to do the Patronus Charm.

"You mother told us to wait a few minutes before she returns with the tea; this will only take a minute to send. And I'll send a patronus to Potter because not only is he training to become an Auror, but he's also of great influence in the Ministry. I'll tell him to contact with the Australian Magic Parliament to send us a couple of Aurors, just in case." He said standing up, a white fox emerging from his wand moments later.

"Better?" He whispered in her ear, noting her wandering eyes moving from the disappearing fox to his wand, quickly secured inside his black coat, to finally rest on the unopened kitchen door. Nodding her head, she sighed in relief and grasped his hand as he sat down next to her.

"You must tell me where did you learn how to do the charm. There's no possible way you could've learned it at Hogwarts," She asked with curiosity in her voice. "But then again, I don't remember ever seeing a Death Eater being able to perform one before." He could almost see the working gears in her mind, and before she could think any further, he replied sourly "You would be surprised."

She looked up at him surprised, and just as she was about to reply, her father came back from the counter with a happy smile and a bottle of what looked like an artisan rum of sorts on his hand, his eyes lazily resting on the young couple's intertwined hands. Out of reflex, she quickly tried to untangle her hand from Draco's, only to look up at him with guilt and a slight blush on her face a second later, remembering her father would now care less if she was in a relationship of any sort.

Trying to ignore the little exchange the odd couple did, Robert called out his wife as he merrily took out four goblet glasses from the counter in the small room. "Would you fancy some rum?" He politely asked Hermione, and she gently refused. "Thank you, but I'm not so much of a drinker." She said slightly shaking her head. He turned to Draco, and not wanting to displease him, he reluctantly accepted the goblet, looking at it with somewhat suspicious eyes.

They all sat down with rum on their goblet except for Hermione, who had both a cup of tea and an empty goblet in her side of the table. Pouring some more rum into the goblets, Robert Granger turned to his wife, "I believe we should make a toast."

"What for?" His wife responded with a curious tone.

"Well," He said now turning to the young couple, "It's not every day you find yourself with peers from across the world, but we should also toast for the happiness we've been blessed with." Goblets, and a teacup, in hand, they clinked their drinks and just before Draco had some, he sniffed his goblet, and with a face of horror he yelled: "DON'T DRINK IT!" Towards Mr and Mrs Granger.

Hermione didn't exactly know what was happening until she heard her father choking on his goblet and saw the moving figure of Draco lounging himself across the table to stop him from drinking further. Her mother, luckily she didn't taste the rum, started screaming as her husband began to convulse, making him fall off his chair. A loud noise made them all jump, and in an instant Draco had his wand on hand, ready for any attack, and the look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. _Death Eaters._

Everything became silent for a few seconds and as Draco began placing all kinds of locking and shield charms on the door, Hermione moved to help her mother with her convulsing father, whose face was a dark shade of purple and his eyes had become white. "What's wrong with him? What is happening?" Her mother desperately whisper-shouted to Hermione, her face stained with tears as she tried to lift her -suddenly heavy as lead- husband off from the floor. "I don't know," Hermione said in a small voice, helping her, "I believe the rum he drank was actually poison. Don't worry; he will be fine. He will be fine" She reassured her in a trembling, and ragged voice and Hermione was afraid she wasn't so sure she believed it so herself. Placing him on the nearest wall, Hermione turned to Draco, who was leaning against the wall beside the door which led to the main store.

The sound of glass breaking and the jamming of the door startled both wizard and witch. They looked into each other eyes, and she whispered "I love you" to him before he made a motion with his eyes to her mother and father and she nodded her head with understanding. Draco crouched and opened the main door to the store, firing as many hexes and defence spells he knew towards the hasty Death Eaters outside.

Hermione tried to calm down her mother, who was visibly too shaken to process everything happening, and she could see out of the corner of her eye there weren't just a _few_ Death Eaters, there were more. One of them saw her, and she was barely able to duck with her mother and convulsing father before she heard someone scream _Reducto,_ making the wall separating the main store from where they were, crumble into pieces. Hermione managed to stun one Death Eater, and before she could stun another one, a jet of red was shot at her way, barely missing her by inches. She turned and saw the white mask of a Death Eater looking at her, recognition in his dark eyes. _"That's her! That's the Mudblood! Kill her!"_ She paled and just as she tried to run to the next room with her parents, she slipped and fell with the remains of the rum and tea scattered on the floor.

Merely moments before she hit the floor, she heard the words _Avada Kedavra,_ and Hermione knew she this would be her end. Hands first, she collapsed against the ground and she closed her eyes before the curse could hit her. Only that, she never felt it. Bare seconds passed and with mild relief, she realised the curse hadn't stricken her. Sending an _Expluso_ at the entrance to gain some minutes to think she turned, and horrified, saw her mother crying inconsolably at the unmoving man beneath her.

_No._

She approached silently towards her parents and choking back a sob, she closed her father's eyelids and kissed his forehead carefully, whispering in his ear "I love you," before taking two deep breaths to be able to concentrate. There would be time to process everything and to grief, but that moment wasn't it.

Dragging her almost-too-shocked-to-move mother further into the room, Hermione made a two-second pause to look at her. Her face –stained with tears- had taken a pale colour, her lips were dry, and her deep brown eyes, much resembling her daughter's, now showed fear and disorientation. Feeling the adrenaline through her blood, Hermione decided it was now or never. Isolating her mind from everything and anyone (including her _This is a bad idea!_ thoughts), she began undoing the memory charm she'd placed on her mother's mind two years and five months ago. _Just let her recognise my face for one moment more, even if it's the last thing we do_ she desperately thought, her mind fiercely trying to concentrate on the spell and block away the alarming sounds getting nearer to them.

Just before she could finish the spell, she heard her mother's soft plea "Hermione" before she saw an orange, blinding flash coming at them. Hitting Hermione, it sent her and her mother flying backwards into the kitchen, collapsing against the cardboard boxes, full of inventory, which was piled up against the wall.

Sweets falling all over them, Hermione felt not only pain from the collision but also an unimaginable burning all over her. Suddenly feeling a warm, sticky substance in her abdomen, she realised it was her blood, quickly staining her clothes with a bright scarlet colour. She heard a gasp and looked up to the fearful face of her mother, who was too frightened even to move. They locked eyes, and for a mere second, Hermione didn't know if there was a trace of something akin to recognition in her mother's eyes. She couldn't be sure because, a second later, her mother's eyes wandered to her lower body and the almost-recognition look in her changed to a one of terror.

She looked up again, and as if searching her with her eyes, she whispered with an estranged voice "Who am I?". Seeing the shocked expression on her mother's face and swallowing bile, Hermione gathered all her strength, untangled her arm from the piles of candy and reached for her wand. She mouthed _Stupefy_ and directed her wand at her mother, who silently fell unconscious over the fallen boxes and candy. _She doesn't need to see this._

Panting, she made a move to sit up, and a sharp burn alongside a deep pain engulfed her. _Wrong move._ A sudden explosion caught her attention, and she saw as part of the ceiling, and upper floor in the store came down, a thick cloud of dust formed, blocking her sight from everything else. She could faintly hear Draco calling her name, his shadow slowly coming near her.

Seconds later, a pair of greyish blue orbs looked down at her, and she knew it didn't matter if she died right there. She would be safe. "D-Draco," Her voice rasped, and he hushed her with a finger, "It's fine love, everything will be okay. Help is on the way." He said kissing her forehead and proceeded to stop her bleeding with the few spells he knew with nervous hands. _"Gods, what the fuck happened to you?"_ Draco whispered worriedly at seeing how quickly all of her clothing and floor began to stain with crimson. She made a motion with her hand, and he looked at her unconscious mother, then to his bloody clothes, worry filling his eyes. "She's… she's alive," She whispered to him, "Tried to recover her memories but my father-" She stopped mid-sentence as an agonizing burning suddenly took over her, making her already-weak body arch with pain, a soundless scream arising in her lips. It was too much to bear. Gasping lamely, she began mumbling incoherent declarations of love towards Draco, knowing she wouldn't survive.

"Hermione love, please stay with me," She heard the voice of Draco say to her, but her eyes were already closing. "Don't," He stated in a panicky voice "Don't close your eyes on me, Granger," He tried to shake her, and she heard a sudden commotion outside the wall of fallen pieces of ceiling, but the pain she was feeling was greater for her even to care about the noise. "You can't die on me, Granger. We need you. _I need you,_ " He whispered in her hair, his tears falling on her dust-stained cheeks. Knowing the pain was probably too almighty for her even to feel it anymore, she tried to form words, only coming as incoherent sounds, before she was consumed by darkness.

* * *

_She was walking down a navy blue road, nothing visible but her steps and a very dim light far on the endless highway. She was barefoot, wearing the same pale, thin white dress she'd worn in some far way memories. The path seemed endless, white flower petals flying all around the black space, and a small breeze brushed her chestnut curls. She did not know for how long she'd been walking, but she somehow knew she just had to keep going. After a while, she suddenly caught a black bench and a lamppost on the side of the road, a big figure seated on the bench, barely illuminated by the dim light of the post. She carefully approached the figure and saw it was a man, covered by what it looked like a pair of black wings._

_"Who are you?" she softly asked the man._

_"I'm merely the ghost of a distant memory." He replied elegantly, his face covered by a wall of hair and his body by the pair of wings._

_"And why did you leave?" She asked without thinking, surprising herself with the sudden question, as if she'd known this man before, in another time._

_"I believe you already know the answer to this issue." The man responded. She gave him a very long stare as she thought about it. It seemed years had passed when she finally replied: "I didn't want you to leave." She responded to the man eerily familiar she thought she'd just met._

_"You're lying to yourself." He said, a dry tone in his voice._

_"No, I'm not. I believe I know my feelings, thank you." She was beginning to get flustered._

_"Your heart is blinded." He replied in above a whisper and before she could retort she heard a sound to her right and she turned to see a white door with a diamond doorknob, a few feet away from her._

_"You should go through it before it's too late." He told her._

_"What will I find there?" She asked, turning her head to him._

_"Your destiny."_

_"But I want to stay here, with you."_

_"It doesn't do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." He told her in a soft tone._

_"Will I ever see you again?"She asked nervously._

_"That is for you to decide." He only told her, "Now, **go.** " _

_She started walking again towards the white door, and just as she was twisting the doorknob, she turned to see the man with the black wings once more and noticed he was gone._

* * *

Hermione woke in a room she did not recognise. She couldn't open her eyes very well, but what they managed to see, she assumed she was in a hospital for there were multiple beds in a row- some with curtains covering them- and everything was white. She ached all over, and when she tried to move her arm, she found she was just too tired even to try. She felt something strange clasping her right hand. She had a strong feeling it was a hand, and with her utmost efforts, she decided to graze the unknown object with hers. The moment her hand made a shift, the object squeezed hers, and she felt movement around her; a strong, masculine and deliciously intimate scent brushing her nose.

"Merlin you're awake!" She heard a familiar voice call from her right side and some footsteps approaching her. Barely opening her eyes, she could see with the corner of them the tall figure of Draco Malfoy speaking quietly with a very skinny and languid nurse. "Please contact Harry Potter and tell him she's awakened."

She had just begun with the not-so-awful chocolate pudding her tray had when she saw the two doors almost slamming open by a petit witch with flaming red hair who was rapidly approaching her bed, closely followed by two familiar wizards.

Not even the word "Hey" escaped Hermione's lips when she was enveloped in the witch's arms. "Do you know how many days I spent not only travelling from England to here but also worrying myself sick about you?" The redhead said, her cheek against Hermione's head, "Eleven! Eleven bloody days without knowing if you would stay comatose forever!"

"It's good to see you too, Gin," Hermione replied with a small smile, hugging her back.

"We thought we'd almost lost you for a minute." Harry said with a smile, a bouquet of flowers in his hands "Where is Draco by the way?" He asked while Ginny made a move to grab the bouquet from his hands and gave it to the closest nurse with the words "Please put these on water for Miss Granger."

"He's in a floo call with his boss. Apparently, they're not letting me out for another five days, and he insisted on keeping me company until I leave." She said tiredly and sighed.

When she woke up, the first thing that happened was a lot of questioning being fired at her from not only the healers and Draco but also Aurors, concerning what had happened at her parents' sweet shop. Remembering flashbacks from the past events, she uncontrollably began crying at the memory of her parents, and it wasn't until an hour later when she'd finally calmed down, that she could answer some of their questions.

Allegedly, the day she travelled with Draco to Australia, a pair of Death Eaters had followed them to the sweet shop. They'd given her father the "new" blinding potion, disguising it as rum and offering it as a gift, hoping everybody would drink it. After the ordeal, she saw when her father drunk from his goblet, five Death Eaters (or so she heard Draco say) entered the shop and hell broke loose.

She was too distraught to pay attention to details, but what she managed to catch was that her father's official c.o.d was the killing curse, and her mother was residing in another part of the spell damage ward. They'd told her that as soon as Hermione was out from the hospital, her mother will be transferred to St Mungo's under a provincial name, for safety purposes. Thanks to Draco's influence in the wizarding society (she still had to thank him for that), she would be placed in a ward inside the Spell damage floor, special for Muggles.

The curse that had hit Hermione had made her unable to finish removing the charm, and her mother's memories all got mixed up. From not knowing who she was, she sometimes could remember things she'd done in her youth, combining them with memories from the present. Some of them included Hermione and her dead husband and some, ideas too bizarre for the healers to denote they weren't really her memories; they doubted a giant fish was ever her neighbour. Draco had told the healer he saw when the Death Eater cursed Hermione. Although he couldn't say what curse he used because _"he probably used nonverbal magic",_ or so he said, the healer told Hermione she was probably alive because of that minor detail. _It sounds awfully lot familiar to the Battle of the Department of Mysteries_ Hermione sourly thought when they'd told her.

She would have not only the scar from Dolohov's curse but also the little ones of this new one. The truth was, she really didn't have the strength to care about the scars, or the Aurors, or the healers. The guilt of her father's death and her mother's probable permanent brain damage made her troubled to the point of tears. The only "good" news was, she was told by the healers the memory charm she'd placed on her parent's mind would've probably stayed permanent if set longer and if it wasn't for the terrible misfortune, she might've arrived just in time to remove it without further consequence. But for Hermione, all she wanted was for Draco to hug all her worries away and forget about the world. She had never felt so weak before.

"Hermione?" Ron asked, snapping her out from her thoughts. "Why are you crying?" She hadn't noticed, but tears were running down her cheeks, and she wiped them off with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry, I just… remembered my parents." She said and saw the instant look of guilt on Harry's face. After all, it was he who suggested to Draco and then to Hermione the idea of going to get Hermione's parents in the first place.

"Hermione I…" He started, but she cut him off "No Harry, I don't want any guilty apologies from your part. I heard you talking to Draco the other day before you spoke to me, and I want you to know that it was my final decision to go. You're not guilty of anything." She finished with a gentle smile, and although he visibly relaxed when she reached and grabbed his hand, he still had a guilty frown on his face.

After a couple of hours, Ginny, Harry and Ron, went back to England because after all, the country was nine hours behind on the clock, and they were pretty tired, even though Harry and Ron were happy because they took the day off to come and visit Hermione, and they could still arrive and have plenty of time to sleep before dinner.

Visiting hours were almost over, and Draco had spent the rest of the evening on the side of Hermione. "You know what healer Morton told me when you woke up?" He whispered gently at her, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Hmm?" She responded looking at him with her brown, tired eyes. "He said to me that for a curse of that magnitude, you should still be in a coma for another two weeks or so." He said, and she widened her eyes, "He told me you are healing way quicker than any other regular wizard should. And you shouldn't be released from the hospital in a month Granger, but your progress is such, you should be perfectly capable of walking out just fine in five days. You do know why is that don't you?" He asked, and she saw the sudden sadness and bittersweetness in his eyes. "It's because of the veela venom is it not?" She asked meekly and kissing her knuckles, he nodded.

Night came, and after the awful lot of not-too-tasty potions Hermione had to take, she refused the sleeping draught a nurse offered her, she felt her blood and stomach already too intoxicated with the potions she already had.

Tossing around in the mildly comfortable bed, she felt an eerie feeling in the room, and she couldn't help but shiver; the room she was in felt nothing like the warmness of Hogwarts' hospital wing. She knew hospitals worked day and night, but she suddenly felt the environment way too calm and silent for a hospital, even though it was probably the dead of the night.

Looking to her side, she saw Draco sleeping in a somewhat awkward position on the small settee aside her bed; she cautiously got out of the bed, and tiptoeing all the way, she exited the room.

She discreetly started walking down the dark aisles from the hospital, and she got the sudden thought of being inside a horror movie. The hallways seemed to be rather empty, and it looked as if the hospital was abandoned. _Is it just me, or is the general wizarding population of Australia healthy enough for the hospital to be half-empty?_ She shook her thoughts away and started looking for the part of spell damage ward her mother was in.

Carefully making her way to the third floor, she realised she didn't know what room her mother was in, so Hermione started looking for any sign of her mother's name in a pile of papers on the front desk of the ward she saw. Not sure if to search for the last name Wilkins or Granger... Hermione suddenly felt a cold draft pass behind her, and she turned, catching a glimpse of a dark figure entering one of the back rooms on the right side of the ward. Leaving the papers behind, she abruptly had the strange feeling of following it, and she made her way, as quick as her condition made her, to the room.

Just before she entered, she saw a sign on the door that said "MUGGLES"; feeling reassured, she opened the door, and she found herself in a room full of beds, most of them empty, with sleeping patients.

Hermione moseyed, for she was nearly out of breath, throughout the room, and in the left corner she saw a woman, much resembling her mother, sleeping peacefully. "Oh, mum!" She silently cried, and she approached the bed, grasping her unconscious mother's hand in hers. Kneeling at her side, she kissed her hand, and she couldn't help the tears forming in her eyes as she silently begged her for forgiveness.

"I should've known better." She whispered into her skin, her salty tears falling and staining her mother's bedsheets.

After a few overwhelming moments, she suddenly sensed she wasn't the only one awake in the room, and from the corner of her eye, she saw the same dark figure that let her in the room standing in the opposite corner.

"Who are you?" She asked softly, rising from her kneeling position, towards the dark figure. The mysterious figure abruptly moved, and she turned quickly, finding it had moved just behind her, but before she could do or say anything else, she suddenly saw black.

"Miss Granger? Can you hear me, Miss Granger?" Brilliant light in her left eye and a nasal female voice made her wake up and seeing blurry; she saw a rather bulky healer hovering over her with a wand on hand, the tip shining brightly.

"What happened?" She asked in a groggy voice and found she was lying on the floor, beside her mother's bed.

"That's exactly what we would like to ask to you, Miss Granger. I'm healer White." The healer said, helping her to a seating position. "You were found by one of the trainees helping a patient go to the toilet, and he told me you were unconscious, lying on the floor. Miss Granger, may I ask," She said, now helping Hermione stand up, "What exactly were you doing in a Muggle room, at three in the morning?" "I…." She tried to explain, but no answer came to her. Besides, she didn't know for sure how well was the security in the hospital, and she didn't know if the healer knew about her mother or not. She preferred not to risk it.

"It's alright; some patients sometimes suffer from side effects like sleepwalking caused by some of the potions they take. You'll have a nurse accompany you to your room; you must be exhausted after all." She was. Making her way out of the chamber with wobbly legs, she saw Draco waiting for her alongside a nurse at the desk, and although she felt tired, she was relieved to see him, and guilty too.

"Draco I'm so sorry you had to wake up," She started, but he hushed her with one finger.

"Don't worry love; I know you haven't been feeling well ever since you woke up. The only thing that concerns me, though, is how on earth did you manage to pass through security and all the nurses and healers in the ward. Rather impressive don't you think?" He said to her, and she looked sideways, frowning. For it to be three in the morning, the hospital looked much more illuminated and fuller than when she'd entered the room. Nothing like a bad horror movie. Guiding her by the waist, they made their way back to her room that was a floor, and a few rooms away.

Back into her bed, Hermione still couldn't sleep very well even though she was drained and ached all over. She closed her eyes for Draco to think she was asleep, and after she could hear his soft snoring, she opened her eyes and saw throughout her window the peaceful-looking sky with almost no stars.

_Was it really sleepwalking caused by the potions or could it be…?_

* * *

The five days Hermione and Draco spent on the ward were delightfully dull. She wasn't allowed to use her wand for safety reasons, and although their friends came to visit a couple of times and she loved the time alone with Draco, they both admitted that every afternoon playing magical board games alongside other patients and reading the outdated herbology books the hospital had weren't in their definition of fun.

By the fourth day, Hermione was practically begging her head of department, Jonathan Mockridge, to let her do at least some paperwork only to be "kindly rejected" by him, who told her that with all the overwork she usually did, she _still_ wasn't behind her work, so he much preferred her to rest and get better. _"Impressive"_ He had told her when after two weeks of absence, it was as if she hadn't missed work at all.

They arrived at Grimmauld Place, and Draco was almost sorry for it; the slightly warmer weather in Sydney was much more preferable than the humid and cold one in London. But he knew Hermione relaxed instantly when they arrived, for she knew they were home.

Besides her return, the not-so-surprising fact of Ginny entering the Holyhead Harpies was a reason to celebrate. She told Hermione she would wait until she was back to go out and celebrate with some drinks alongside the guys, and although Hermione was feeling a little depressed about her family to go out drinking with her friends she didn't want to let Ginny down, so she accepted.

"So Weasley," Draco started with a grin on his lips. He, Hermione, Ginny, Harry and Ron were seated in the bar at the Leaky Cauldron, both he and Hermione with eye bags caused by the time zone. "Haven't got any luck with the ladies?" He asked with a sly smile and an arm around Hermione's shoulders, who only rolled her eyes at him. She knew Ron wasn't harbouring any romantic feelings anymore towards her, but he still got pissed off by some comments made by Draco.

"Piss off Malfoy," Ron grumbled and took a sip from his dragon scale.

"Now that I think about it," Ginny said pensively minutes later of silent drinking, "You _haven't_ been dating as of lately. Is something wrong, Ron?" She asked and looking at her with an annoyed expression he retorted, "Look, Ginny, is none of your business what I-" "You know Ron," Hannah Abbott interrupted, having heard their conversation from where she was working. "My friend, Megan Jones, is single right now, and I believe she'd love to go on a date with you." She smiled as she refilled the pint of another customer.

"Oh, Megan!" Ginny exclaimed. "She's cousins with Gwenog! I could ask her to tell Megan you'd like to meet her." Ginny and Hannah both look suddenly excited as if they were young girls planning a slumber party, while the others just looked at the sudden exchange with a bemused expression on their faces.

"Piss all of you," Ron said taking a big gulp from his beer, "It's my problem whom I want to date or not." He finished his dragon scale and with a big thump on the bar, he motioned Hannah to refill it, who only sighed and complied.

"You don't need to be so rude Ronald; Hannah was just making a suggestion." Hermione scolded him with a frown on her face.

"It's fine Hermione." Hannah replied, returning with Ron's pint, "I was the one interrupting after all. Guess I got too accustomed at jumping into conversations here; it happens a lot."

"We asked Neville if he wanted to come but he said he was too busy," Harry said, trying to change the conversation. "Oh, yeah, he's always late on Thursdays. He's working on his apprenticeship and all." She sighed, "Besides, he doesn't like to come here much. Says he feels like he's abusing of me in some way." Hannah chuckled.

"Oh, how I love that man." She said with a smile before walking away to attend another arriving customer.

* * *

After saying their goodbyes to everybody, Draco and Hermione left the Leaky Cauldron a tad earlier than the rest.

"Please stay." She told Draco, taking him by the arm when he proceeded to clean up the now-empty bottles of potions Hermione had to take. "I know we both have work tomorrow but… I don't want to sleep alone tonight." She told him with glassy eyes, and he smiled, seating himself next to her laying figure on the bed.

"I'm sorry if I've been quieter as of lately." She said after moments of silence, her long brown mane sprayed all over his chest, her eyes looking up to him. "It's not on purpose. Promise."

He drew his long, elegant fingers along her cheek and with his thumb, wiped away the single tear her eye shed. "Even though you have repeated to me a thousand times it wasn't my fault, I can't help but feel guilty over the wistful tears your beautiful eyes have been shedding in silence ever since the past week. I'm the one who's sorry for what happened to your parents. For everything." He said in a small voice and softly kissed her temple. "I can only imagine what you're going through."

"Whenever I think of it, I can't help myself but wonder, even though they would've forgotten me forever, how happy and _alive_ the would be right now if it weren't…"

"Hey," Draco interjected, knowing all too well where this was going.

"I _saw_ her, Draco. There was recognition in her eyes mere seconds before the blast. And now-" She said with a cracked voice, half seating herself on the bed. "My father died without remembering he had a child. And now he's dead because of that child."

"Granger,"

"My mother-" she choked back a sob "Merlin only knows when will she even recognise _herself_. I honestly don't believe she'll ever get out from St. Mungo's Draco." She said with blank, teary eyes. "I won't ever forget the look of anguish and pain she had before I stunned her. That face of despair-" "Hermione!" He finally exclaimed, grabbing her chin to make her look up to him, tears running down her cheeks. His eyes softened. "No one, not even the lousy seer of Trelawney, was capable of knowing this would happen. Do. Not. Blame. Yourself. Do you hear me?" He said, his grey orbs boring into her brown ones. "Do you understand me?" He said once more, shaking her a bit and she meekly nodded.

"You're the most intelligent witch I know; I won't let you fall into the abyss of depression caused by the actions of _them_. I won't lose you because I know that even though it hasn't been easy, the stubborn witch I know won't let it get on her way." He said smiling and she too managed a bleary smile. "Now, you know I usually don't say this kind of things, but I love you, and I don't think you deserve any less."

Hermione felt a sudden rush of warmness in her, and she suddenly felt better. Her teary eyes made her vision blurry, so she slightly pecked him on the lips before falling into his arms feeling safe once again.

She closed her eyes, and he softly kissed them, tasting the salty tears left in her eyelashes. He traced with his lips her cheekbones, her jaw, and ever so gently, he kissed her neck without avoiding the un-glamoured bite she dreaded.

Her jumper was going further and further up her stomach as his kisses went further down, and with a silent sign of approval, he took it and her bra off, her skin shivering at the touch of the cold air coming from her window. "You are beautiful and divine Hermione Granger. I love you so much." Draco said into her skin, his lips and tongue tasting her ivory flesh. She faintly sighed as he kissed her breasts, his hands caressing all of her body tenderly. She entwined her fingers in his platinum hair, and she looked outside her window, the full, silver moon looking at her with its melancholic brightness.

Draco's kisses went up, and with slow tenderness and devotion, he kissed her lips, small words of adoration coming out from his mouth every breath they took. More than a passionate embrace, Hermione couldn't feel more loved by the phrases and endearments from Draco.

As they both fell into sleep, tightly embraced, the last thing Hermione could hear was a soft humming, something like a lullaby, coming from Draco "I love you, Draco Malfoy..." she whispered before drifting into a deep sleep.

* * *

 


	20. New Year's Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry I didn't upload earlier, I just came back from my vacation, and while I didn't get a chance to access any computer, I came back exhausted and I still had to edit the chapter, so I'm uploading it today. Next two chapters are in the works, so hopefully around this or the next week I'll upload next one :)
> 
> And for the story, a few notes:
> 
> 1\. There's gonna be, as you've already noticed, time jumps. There are a few things I want them to happen at a specific time, and I also want time to pass, so there's gonna be time jumps from time to time. Nothing too extreme, just a couple of months tops between each time jump.
> 
> 2\. Please tell me if you can understand when Fleur's talking. I tried to mimic her accent as close as it is in the books, but in there she doesn't speak as much as in this story, and it may generate trouble when reading. If this happens please let me know and I'll remove it and you'll just have to imagine it haha.
> 
> Thank you all for reading this story, for the bookmarks, comments, and kudos. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Shortly after Hermione's return from the St Mungo's, Minerva hosted a meeting with the members of the Order; all came for the exception of Severus Snape. Many had questioned her about it, not only it was highly unusual for him to be absent in important meetings, but he'd been gone for the past months, raising suspicion between some members even though Minerva promised he would return. Ever since Severus parted away to Rumania, Minerva had told the Order he'd resigned his post as headmaster, leaving it to Minerva alone and he would suspend his activities as a potion's master at Hogwarts until further notice.Hermione couldn't shake the feeling away of guilt because she knew the exact reason why he'd left, and she wasn't so sure he would return -at all.

While Minerva tried to assure them, it was nothing suspicious but merely a working trip to Rumania with Professor Regulus Moonshine, Hermione turned the pendant nervously between her fingers, having worn it ever since she came back from the hospital, not wanting the memory of him to fade away.

Many stood concerned about the news the headmistress held. The situation was slowly getting worse, and it wasn't lessening, now even less with the attack at the Grangers. After the dreadful day in Sydney a few weeks prior to the meeting, the Aurors collected part from the blinding potion to analyse it. It was indeed a problem not only because Severus was absent, and he was the best potions master they had, but also, the potion was everywhere, and it was highly toxic and cursed, making the work slower and worse. Not only that, but word spread amongst the wizarding community something had happened to a family member of the golden trio and rumours started circulating, much to the demise of them.

The Order pleaded to everyone involved to keep discreet about the matter and to say nothing about it. The worst part wasn't people finding out, but the remaining Death Eaters saw this as a failure to their plan and started having more attacks to Muggles and Muggle-Borns in the area. Although there weren't many attacks, they were getting more violent and bloodier each time.

Draco held Hermione's hand tightly as the headmistress was speaking. He looked at his girlfriend and saw nothing but a frown on her forehead, her eyes focused on something and her expression far way. She was, after all, the only Muggle-Born of the lot and the only one who was at most peril for that matter. What many in the Order couldn't piece together was the reason to attack only Muggle-Borns when they completely ignored the existence of Harry.  _Maybe because the world doesn't revolve around him anymore_ , Draco thought with annoyance. He couldn't understand how some of the members didn't even think that Harry only was a threat to the Death Eaters when Voldemort was still alive; he was the only one capable of killing him. But now with him gone, Harry just became a regular wizard with a wicked story to tell his grandchildren. Even since before, the ideologies of Death Eaters didn't revolve solely in Harry Potter, they wanted him finished to avoid the threat directed at their Dark Lord, yes, but their goal was to seek blood supremacy and eradicate everyone who wasn't as pure-blooded as they all claimed to be.

Annoyed with almost everyone talking in the room he decided to change topics  _They're not getting anywhere, this is only stressing Hermione more, and it's started to give me a headache for the matter._

"And while we wait for the Aurors to finish investigating the scene why don't we discuss the potion? Are there any more advances to it? Or have we figured out its purposes?" Draco asked in the short pause the meeting had. He knew Minerva had already told them about it months back, but he doubted many order members knew what the potion was about. Many faces looked at him with disdain, not genuinely believing he defected Voldemort and saw him as a spy.  _I may even start to pity my godfather a bit..._  he thought sourly, ignoring the others.

"And why should we trust you? You're a Death Eater yourself, young boy! How are we so sure of your renewed "affiliation"?" Dedalus Diggle, an older member of the order, asked with suspicion.

"Because he has proven to be loyal to us," Hermione said grabbing his arm with both hands. "And you already know he was only a Death Eater because he was forced to be one. Draco didn't have much of choice in the matter. Just the same as I didn't choose to be a target, he didn't choose to be born in a blood supremacist family. Besides, he's here, isn't he? He  _saved_  me. He's here with us today, and that's what matters."

"Yeah, but how do we know he's not a spy like Snape was? He may have been in our side all along, but he was a spy nonetheless." Someone in the back said. Hermione stiffened a bit at the mention of the potions master name but quickly recovered.

"Professor Snape was a spy to help us, not for anything else. And I trust Draco with all my might. He's as trustworthy as anyone in this room. You can ask Minerva and the others if you feel that insecure about him." She said turning her head to the side, not fully facing her back.

Minerva made a sound with her throat and finally spoke, "Right. Just as Hermione remarks, everyone in this room has the same right to be here, and it'll be either Kingsley or I the ones who decide who stays and who goes. Nevertheless, the potion yes, thank you for reminding me Draco." She said with a tight smile and continued, "We don't know for sure, why are they brewing it; it's a very complicated potion. I gave Severus a piece of the recipe found in Jovan Rosier's house to see if he could find something. Among personal reasons, he left for Rumania to further investigate the ingredients used in the potion." She said silencing those who questioned her about the potion's master.

"What we know is that it's very dark magic indeed, making it possible to immediately poison anyone who drinks it or comes in touch with the substance, and even though it only kills Muggles in the short term, we've found it's secondary effects are blinding the subject. What we don't know is if this secondary reaction is the achieved goal or if they're brewing for something else. Severus told me the potion looked unfinished, but nevertheless, it has already caused much damage.

"Not only Muggles and Muggle-Borns are at peril," She said somberly looking at Hermione, and then at everyone else, "But we may all be at risk with this new thread. And we no longer have Albus with us." Minerva said quietly, ending the meeting.

* * *

"Pass me some Christmas pudding?" George said pointing at the pudding with his fork.

"Careful with the pudding dear, wouldn't want your groom robes to get  _too small_  before the wedding." Molly Weasley said with an animated smile and winked at Angelina, who only returned the gesture with a small, embarrassed smile.

"Or wouldn't want Angelina leaving you before it." Fred laughed, and George replied with a silent "Piss off", kicking him under the table.

"Now now Fred, don't try to ruin your brother's wedding, who knows, maybe that could be you in a couple of months." Fred almost choked with his mulled wine when her mother said it, gaining a laugh from his twin, and coughing he managed "Don't want to ruin your hopes Mum, but Verity and I began dating three weeks ago! Besides, I thought you'd be happy enough now that Bill's having a child!" He said directing with his head the eldest of the Weasley brothers, alongside his wife who only smiled politely and looked down at her almost invisible four-month baby bump.

After the commotion of the attack on the Granger family passed a bit, Bill and Fleur Weasley seized the opportunity to announce they were expecting and Mrs Weasley not only burst into tears but made enough food for a couple of dozen people that week. Ron was more than relieved that at last, he could take his mother off his back with questions about his love life while she ambushed Fleur every time she came to the Burrow with baby talk. On the other side, Ginny had mixed emotions about it, having now to deal with a hormonal pregnant veela whenever they came to dinner.  _At least they don't live here anymore…_  she thought to herself in relief.

"Oh, It's only a mother's wish to see all of her children grow a happy family of their own," Molly replied with twinkling eyes directed at both Harry and Ginny who only looked at their plates as if it was the most delicious dish they've eaten in their lives.

"Yes well," Arthur Weasley said, stopping the almost uncomfortable silence in the room, "It's also my wish Molly dear, but I can only say I'm most happy to see all of my sons and my daughter well. And I couldn't be happier with Bill's pregnancy, George's engagement and Percy who is a newlywed." He said, making a toast in the direction where both his sons sat.

After Percy's reunion with his family, it wasn't long before Molly Weasley stuffed his son every time he came to dinner with loads of food and hugs. Most of his brothers forgave him immediately, but the first few visits he did to the Burrow after the war left him feeling quite a bit tense, mostly around his father who was a bit hesitant to show love and adoration to a son who spent years trying to stay away from his family but gave in almost immediately after the first few visits.

Charlie Weasley wasn't present to their Christmas reunion that year because he'd told them in a letter earlier in the month, he was waiting for a dragon who emigrated to Rumania from Norway in winter season to mate, and the dragon decided to make his appearance just before Christmas Eve, so he would most probably visit around New Year's Eve.

"Hermione dear, why don't you invite your boyfriend next time you come to the Burrow? I'm sure he won't get bored in our New Year's reunion this year." Mrs Weasley suddenly asked the petite witch, silencing the whole table. Almost everyone turned to look at her, with wide eyes and expressions that implied the older witch had gone daft, or permanently mad.

"I-I'm sorry?" Hermione asked as if she didn't hear what Mrs Weasley had said  _she could not possibly have meant…_

"Yes dear, your boyfriend. Isn't him the Malfoys son? It's been ages I haven't seen the boy, and I'm sure he would like to spend some time here with us. After all, you're always here, I'm sure he misses you." Molly said with a smile that said nothing was wrong with the idea.

"Mum, have you gone mental? This is Draco Malfoy we're talking about here. The one who not only made fun of us almost all of our years at Hogwarts but whose father was part of the reason Dad spent weeks at St. Mungo's! Do you really want him 'ere?" Ron asked, choosing his words before blurting out the word  _Death Eater_. Hermione wanted to interject with Ron, but she found herself actually agreeing with him. Why would Molly Weasley want the son of a man who had continually bullied her family, her husband, a man who had openly tried to kill Harry, and who'd been a Death Eater? More importantly, why would she invite willingly the  _boyfriend_  of the girl who left her precious son?  _Maybe she has indeed gone mad._

"Mrs Weasley, as much as I want to contradict Ron, I think he's right. Why would you want to invite him? I know he's nothing like his father ever was, and he's very much changed over the years, but wouldn't you feel uncomfortable about it?" Hermione asked gently with an awkward smile towards Mrs Weasley, fearing it was all just an act to finally kick her out of the Burrow forever with whatever excuse she could get from the conversation.

Molly Weasley chuckled, and everyone looked stilled at the redhead. All eyes were glued to the pair of witches, anxious about her response.

"I know many people made mistakes over the curse of these past years. Some of them made bigger mistakes than others, and some were remorseful for them. In all of the years I've lived, I've learned to look past those mistakes in people who I know they're worth it. This boy, this Draco Malfoy seems to be one of those people. Yes, he's a Malfoy, and The Malfoys have always had problems with us Weasleys, it doesn't matter if it has been over money, power, or the fact we're "blood traitors".

"Your statement in the Order's last meeting had me thinking. And you're correct Hermione, not only did he saved you and he was there with us, but the boy didn't ask to be born in that family, and for many years he believed what he was taught, just like any of you would've done. The difference between him and the others is that he changed for the better. He saw the flaws of the ideology he had and decided not to follow his father's steps.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm beginning to ramble!" Mrs Weasley said blushing and continued, "But nevertheless, he's an important person in your life and as I've said to you before: You and Harry are like family to us. You can count on us in whichever problem you might have, and that means we welcome too, the persons who are most important to you too." She finished, and Hermione's eyes welled up in tears, not being able to believe the witch in front of her, who years before, had sent her a significantly smaller amount of Easter chocolates than Harry and Ron, and was cold to her because she'd thought Hermione to be a harlot at cause of Rita Skeeter.

"I-I thought you didn't like me anymore because I broke up with Ron, and the only reason you kept inviting me was that of me living with Harry." She said not caring she was in front of the whole Weasley family, who were avidly listening to the sudden outburst of the witch as if waiting for something to happen. "I'm sorry if I'm like this, I can't help it, but I'm just so happy." She said in between cries and stood up her place to hug Mrs Weasley. She'd felt better and happier than any of the weeks before, finally feeling accepted to the second family she had, and quite possibly the only one she had left.

"Oh, Hermione you've always been family to us. I've considered you my daughter even before you started dating Ronald. And while I might've felt a bit disappointed you two terminated your relationship, that's no reason to hate you or to stop inviting you, and now even less, not after I saw the way you looked at the Malfoy boy. I want the best for my children, yes, but as a mother, I also know it's not the end of the world if their personal relationships don't go well!" She said, tearing up too.

"Cut it off!" Ginny said from across the table. "You're making us all tear up as well, and we still have presents to open," Ginny said with her eyes already red from the commotion, making everyone laugh in merry.

 

_**February 2000** _

Luna's eyes lit instantly when she opened her door and saw the figure of Draco Malfoy standing in the doorway. "Draco!" She exclaimed with a dreamy smile, "So nice having you here! Why didn't you just use the floo? You know I don't mind." She said, letting the wizard in "Thank you, Luna." The blond said with a polite smile, entering the small cottage. "I'm sorry for not coming over your birthday party last week, I was very busy with work." He said placing his cloak on the hanger, and she only smiled. "It's fine, really. We did have a lot of fun, although I would've preferred if you'd come; Hermione spent almost all the evening pouting." She laughed, and he smiled somewhat awkwardly.

After an almost too-uncomfortable pause of silence, before he could retort the witch as if knowing what he thought, said,

"Blaise's upstairs; he's finishing with the armoire in my room. Meanwhile, Teddy and I are finishing painting the sitting room." She explained, turning her head at the almost-finished mural on the wall, and he gave a small nod to the witch with paint stained clothes. With her hair in a messy updo, seeing Luna not only had paint all over her clothes but also some on her face, Draco would never understand how is it that wizards would prefer doing things the Muggle way rather than with magic. The small giggles of the toddler shook him out of his thoughts and nodding politely at the witch, he made his way upstairs, avoiding any paint stains on the floor.  _She must be babysitting Lupin's son,_ he thought.

He found Blaise in the room at the far back of the storey, crouched beside what it seemed to be a half-finished armoire. It gave Draco shivers at its close resemblance to the Vanishing Cabinet.  _Don't be mental, both vanishing cabinets were destroyed, and Luna is the last person to acquire something of the sort._

"And you said I was the one "henpecked" Zabini?" Draco said mockingly, startling the wizard crouched in front of him, making him almost fall.

"Fucking hell" Blaise hissed and dropped his wand to the floor. "You could've at least knocked or something, I almost fall into the armoire! And believe when I tell you, you  _do not_  want to get started over again with a magical armoire, they are difficult to handle as hell."

"What are you doing with that anyway?" Draco said, greeting properly his friend, who stood up next to him.

"Luna asked me if I could help her with her armoire. She charmed it somehow to arrange her clothes for the day depending on her humour, but it seems the charm isn't working so well." Blaise said with piercing eyes at the oak armoire in front of him.

"Look, mate, I know you're her boyfriend, but wouldn't it be best to floo-" "I can do it." He said to him with a determined tone. "I know I work applying apparition tests, but I only planned on doing it so for a few months, and those months have passed. I got an "Outstanding" on both Charms and Transfiguration." He said, and Draco arched an eyebrow at him "I'm going to apply to the Committee of Experimental Charms." He explained. "It's not what my dream job would be, but I'm far more interested in that than apparition tests. Besides, if that'll get my mother off my back, better for me."

"She's still pressuring you to go back to Italy?" Draco asked in a concerned tone.

"She won't bloody shut up about it. She even tried to persuade me by inviting to my manor all sorts of birds to get to know me. It's almost as if my relationship with Luna didn't matter to her; almost as if what I want didn't matter to her at all!" He finished with an exasperated tone.

Draco could only nod in understanding. He knew better than anyone about parent pressure and feeling quite hopeless in life decision making. But at least he didn't have to carry with that burden anymore. He knew Blaise's mother was an eccentric woman. Draco didn't even know her maiden's name, for she already had six previous marriages before Blaise's father; all deceased men, Blaise's too. And Draco was almost sure his mother's decisions upon Blaise's life were nothing but try and take out the most benefit she could get out of them. Both financially and socially.

Blaise had only a step-sister, who was seven years older than him, Bella Abreu, daughter of Massima Zabini's fourth marriage to a Portuguese pure-blooded wizard. Draco didn't remember if she attended Hogwarts or not, but the only thing he knew about her was that she was now in Italy, married to a pure-blooded wizard her mother arranged for her to wed. Blaise had told Draco countless of times his mother hadn't done the same to him but doubt always resided in Draco.

"I'm sure she only worries about you, about what's best for you. You know how pure-blooded witches get with their sons." Draco said trying to lighten up the mood.

"Well yes, but your mother was married to a pure-blooded supremacist and not only is she ecstatic about your relationship with Hermione, but she doesn't butt in your life decisions anymore. My mother is something else mate, I tell you. She is mental enough to even go as far as poisoning Bella's husband only to make her marry again just so she can get richer." He said now sitting on the edge of Luna's bed, hoping she didn't hear them at all, and Draco was fairly sure what had happened to Blaise's father.

"Sorry to vent in front of you like this, but you're my best friend. And I don't know how much longer I can stand my mother before I go into hiding. I wish I could tell Luna all of this, and I do but… some things are better kept in the dark until it's necessary to get them out." He sighed.

"Hey," Draco said putting his hand on his shoulder. "Don't ever feel sorry to vent yourself with me. You know better than anyone that if you've got a problem, you can count on me, Blaise." Draco said flashing him a sincere smile, one of which he kept only to particular people and special occasions.

"Draco I never thought I would say this," Blaise said sternly looking into Draco's eyes, getting closer to him, "But I think I'm starting to fall in love with you mate." He said and made a pouting face at him as if to kiss him, and Draco responded by laughing and shoving him aside "Sod off Zabini! I wanted to make you feel better but not  _that_ better!"

They stood from the bed, and still laughing Blaise responded "Sorry sorry, but really. Thanks, mate. I appreciate your words very much, and you know it's the same way around if you ever feel alike." He said smiling to the blonde wizard and they made their way down the hall.

"By the way," Blaise said stopping before they reached the stairs, "Why exactly did you come here? I doubt the only reason to come here was to visit me while being at Luna's. And I know you miss Pansy, but not only is she returning in three weeks, but we saw each other just yesterday." Blaise said chuckling.

"Oh yeah, sorry, I got carried away back there." He said and turned to face Blaise closer, and in a more serious tone told him, "We might need your help. There has been yet another attack, and it has been the bloodiest of them all. Four Muggles and two Muggle-Borns." He said and swallowed before continuing, "Their body parts were  _scattered_  in different locations. It seems they were forced to apparate but they all splinched, and badly so. They were all poisoned with the blinding potion too." He finished.

Blaise looked at him with a hard face before responding, "Why are you telling me this mate? No doubt it was fucking twisted what they were forced to do but doesn't that stuff is confidential? Doesn't the Ministry or the Order of whatever-its-name-is know? And why do they need my help?"

"Yes, and yes. Kingsley and many Aurors already know about this. And the Order for that fact knows too." Draco said better than to reveal Kingsley was a member of the Order as well as many Aurors were too part of it. He knew Blaise knew he was a member, but even though Draco trusted the wizard with his soul, the Order was still somewhat secretive to as what they did, and even though the war was over, it was risky to go around telling everyone it existed and who its members were.

"And we might need your help because we don't want to make this public, or at least Kingsley doesn't want it to be public if nothing less not yet. The war has just ended, and the least he wants to do is to make people feel insecure again. And even though you're changing works, you still work at the department Of Magical Transportation, and we know you have the files off all wizards and witches who've apparated in the country, and that has an apparition license."

"I don't know Draco, it's a little sketchy, and I don't want to lose my job before I get the new one."

"You won't. Kingsley knows about this, and he gave me the go-ahead to approach you. The only secretive thing about this would be not letting your boss find out. And even if he does, you'll have the Minister for Magic to back you up. You won't get into any trouble for this, I promise." He said and turned only to see the big baby blue eyes of Luna Lovegood staring up at him from the stairs. Draco cursed mentally, the only reason being there was a kid in the little cottage, and he didn't want to get into the wrong side of a werewolf.

"Oh, you're already coming down? I came here to get you. I'm making some tea." She said with a smile, and they came down the stairs.

"I hope you like it, I made some peppermint tea and opened a pack of Muggle biscuits Hermione gave me for my birthday she knows I like," Luna said and gave Draco a little red bar with a blue penguin in the middle.  _Penguin_  read the red box in the far end of the table, and Draco shrugged, opening the little packet and took a bite out of the chocolate biscuit.  _Even though I don't like them, I have to admit, Muggles do make good biscuits_  Draco thought while chewing the cookie.

"You liked them?" Luna asked expectantly, and Draco nodded with a faint blush on his cheeks, having finished the little chocolate biscuit in far fewer bites as he would've liked. "I have more if you like. Each one contains a joke in the wrapper." She said giggling offering him the box, and while Draco wanted to refuse, he decided to forget his pride a bit and took another one, trying not to roll his eyes at the awful joke the wrapper had.

"Your armoire is almost ready. The problem was when you tried to put the colour in the charm. It's a little tricky, but I think I've managed it." He said affectionately at the pale witch. Teddy made some noise of content, and it took Draco out of his thoughts once more. "You're babysitting Lupin's son again?" He asked out of curiosity in the witch's interest in the were wolf's son.

"Yes, I am, although I'm returning him back to his grandmother's in a few hours. Today's full moon and I volunteered to take care of Teddy." She said smiling at the baby who was almost two years old, playing with a clean paintbrush. "But since I haven't finished moving here and there are still many things to unpack as well as there is paint all over the house, I don't think it's safe enough for Teddy to sleep here. Ever since he's learned how to walk, I can hardly keep him out of my sight." She motioned the toddler to come and placed him on her lap. "'una, 'una" The baby exclaimed, his hair turning the same shade as Luna's and his eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Where's your father by the way? I haven't seen him in a while, and it doesn't look he's around here." Draco asked trying not to look at the child who could've easily passed as Lunas' son.

"Oh, I moved here by myself; my father decided to spend some time in Ireland before he returns. Although we agreed to build a house together, he was hesitant to return after our last trip, and he admitted I was old enough to have a place of my own. He also complied with it because my new job as a magizoologist allowed me to save enough to have this cottage. It's not much, but the wizards I'm working with just found another species of a winged horse, and they gave some extra galleons for participating in the discovery." She chirped and drank her tea while Blaise looked at her with worried eyes.

 _I just hope Blaise doesn't come crying whenever Luna has to travel_  Draco thought with disdain while finishing his tea.

"By the way, how was New Year's at the Burrow?" Luna inquired with curiosity, and Blaise almost choked on his tea trying not to laugh. Draco sent daggers at his way but politely answered Luna, "It was a new experience for me actually," Draco said pouring himself more tea. "My mother was disappointed I wasn't going to spend the holiday with her but was rather excited I was going to spend it with Hermione. As for when I arrived there… let's just say everyone was too polite with me." He said uncomfortably, remembering the event as if it was yesterday.

"I was actually surprised when Granger asked me to come to the Weasley's New Year's party, and after she told me Mrs Weasley had a change of heart and didn't hate Hermione for breaking her crybaby nor me for stealing her from him, I decided to go. After all, the war is over, people have changed and… I don't want to reject any new possible friendships." He said with a tiny smile and drank his tea.

The truth was, the Weasleys had been nothing but kind to Draco, and even though he was avoided by some of them, he was left with mixed emotions about it. He felt undeniable guilty about all the remarks he'd done in the past about them, but he also felt uncomfortable with the familiarity Mrs Weasley greeted him. And Draco was  _sure_  it was all because of Hermione.  _She really is like family to them,_  he had thought that evening.

* * *

Hermione was so engrossed in her work she didn't notice the knock on her door three times before her boss and head of department, Jonathan Mockridge, came through the door and sighed at her sight.

"Hermione, I know your work is more important than any of us, but could you  _please_ try and answer the door next time?" He said with a slightly exasperated tone but wasn't as serious as he sounded. Hermione, on the other hand, went scarlet and apologised immediately "Oh, I'm so sorry! I was just looking at the records of house-elves in the past years. I guess I became too engrossed by it and didn't hear the knocking on the door. Why didn't you send me a floo call this time?" she asked half curious and half embarrassed. It was the third time her boss came through her door without her opening it because she was too focused on her work to even hear it and she was afraid he would remove it if it happened again.

"Because it would be the same thing with the floo, but if I came, I knew I could get your attention more easily. Besides, not only is your office right across the hall from mine, but I needed to give you this personally." He said handing her a folder with a 'CONFIDENTIAL' stamp on it.

The truth was, Hermione had managed to get her own office, but not by the influence of Harry or any of the sort as many had thought when she received it. When she started at her job, she was given a cubicle just like her co-workers, but soon after entering, her boss saw how quick she was at it; he started giving her more and more workload over time. And after the incident in Australia, when he saw all her paperwork done, he was impressed with the amount of work Hermione could achieve in so little time and even more. Soon after, Hermione was promoted, and even though she still stayed under the division of Beings, she not only worked in House-Elf Relocation, but she also helped with some Werewolf Support Services paperwork.

"Right," She said taking the folder. "I'm sorry that it's happened again, I'll try to prevent it from happening once more. It just that, every time I get something to do with house- elves I remember back in the time I was studying at Hogwarts and my frustration because I couldn't do anything." She exclaimed, thinking about her failure with S.P.E.W. "Back then, the project I was working on seemed to be far away to even be heard about; people even  _mocked_  me about it, thinking how silly it all sounded. But now that I'm working here, I feel like I can actually  _do_  something useful and maybe even continue with that project." She said dreamily, and her boss-eyed her half amused and half uncomfortable with her excitement over house elves.

"Oh sorry, was I rambling again?" Hermione asked embarrassed, and her boss nodded at her and laughed a bit. "I don't mind your rambling most of the time, but I believe maybe Suzie isn't so fond of it." He said with a smile and Hermione blushed. Suzie was a transfer from America, and almost everyone didn't like her because of her non-stop talking and her complaints to some about her not fully understating their "heavy" British accent. But even if she disliked many, she didn't like Hermione above everyone else because everyone knew Hermione's boss had promoted her  _very_  quickly. Although the co-workers closest to Hermione knew her enough to know she'd gained it with her abilities no less, many, like Suzie, though she'd won that office doing some other  _favours_  of the sort. And it didn't help the fact Suzie had a massive crush on Jonathan.

"I know, but I can't really blame her, she fancies you a lot," Hermione said, and Jonathan laughed, brushing it off. "Don't let that sort of thing get you. It is very common at work, but the only thing you should know is to never pay attention to those who are jealous of you and who try to pull you down. Besides, I'm not that much into blondes, I much prefer brunettes." He said winking at Hermione and she blushed, not knowing how to respond or react to that, making the moment very awkward. Jonathan was somewhat of a good-looking man with his auburn hair, hazel eyes and him being very tall, yes, and although he was twelve years older than Hermione, she felt uncomfortable because not only the man was married, but he knew she had a boyfriend. Her boss seemed to notice this for he changed the subjects immediately.

"Yes well," He said clearing his throat, with a slight rosy tint on his cheeks, "I came here to give you those papers to take to the Minister for Magic. Kingsley has asked on all previous laws, registration and papers we have concerning werewolves. The notes you made on the new proposal were left intact for Kingsley to revise. But I need you to see the papers first before sending them over to him; I trust you to see if anything is missing. I also ask you to go over there personally because I don't fully trust the Ministry for the papers to arrive untouched to his office. The Ministry was not too long ago run by You-Know-Who under our noses, and many people still are doubtful about werewolves having the same rights as we." He said with a tight smile, and Hermione nodded at him. "Don't worry sir, I'll check them and make sure they arrive there safely."

After making a quick run-down the papers Mockridge gave her, Hermione made her way to the main hall of her department, towards the lifts. Going down two floors, Hermione reached level two and made her way out of it which was slowly getting crowded with all kinds of wizards and witches.

She walked through the halls of the Department of Law Enforcement trying not to get lost. It wasn't daily Hermione visited that department, and the few times she'd come, she was always accompanied by someone else.  _Calm down, if you happen to get lost, you can always ask someone._   _I highly doubt anyone in this department doesn't know where Kingsley's office is._

She walked a few halls and recognised the cubicles where the Auror headquarters were. She saw a familiar face at the far end of the cubicles and smiled.  _I'm glad they're finally giving Remus the respect he deserves._ Everyone in the Order knew he was working partially as an Auror, but the law forbid him to actually work as one, so he had to work as an undercover.  _Kingsley must've spoken to the Head of the Auror Office, and to the Aurors too for that matter_ , Hermione though.  _Harry, Neville and Ron must be somewhere near here also_

She walked a few more halls trying to find Kingsley's office, feeling like something was a little off, and before she gave up and decided to ask someone, Hermione felt a slight chill go down her spine. She felt her breath shorten and her palms starting to get sweaty. Before anyone could see her, Hermione walked down the emptiest aisle she could find and turned right in the second hallway. She took her wand just in case and closed her eyes, her back hitting the cold, black wall.  _This isn't happening, not right now._

Waves of mixed emotions suddenly flowed through her; happiness, fear, anticipation, ecstasy, surprise, grief… All different emotions went through her and Hermione felt violently sick. She tried to maintain her grip on her wand and the papers Mockridge had given her while trying not to fall in the floor, grabbing with her other hand the wall.

After some excruciating seconds, she felt the wave of the emotions slowly fading away and felt instead peace and serenity. Focusing on her feet no to give away she heard a faint sigh coming from her right.

Turning her head gently towards the sound she encountered herself with the quarter veela who had been taunting her dreams ever since her last day in school. She gasped at the sight and accidentally dropped the folder to the floor; she was too overwhelmed to be able to handle it anymore. Finally facing the veela after months of not seeing each other, they locked eyes, brown and black, boring into the other intensely. She saw he was occluding his eyes, his mind, from her. But even as his eyes didn't want to express his emotions, she could feel them in the back of her head, the pit of her stomach and in her veins. She could see into the eyes of a man who was repressing his feelings; a man far too young to be so worn out by his emotions which had been built up through the years.

After what it seemed to be forever, all those repressed emotions and feelings she had bottled up inside of her suddenly came and felt them heavy in the pitch of her stomach, making her eyes water. She looked away from him and held back a sob, not wanting to start crying in front of him.

Severus Snape approached the small witch slowly with caution and with the most delicacy, grabbed the fallen papers from the floor and handed them to her.

"I believe you dropped this, Miss Granger." He said in a monotonous voice, lacking any emotion.

"I- thank you." She said through a cracked voice and still not looking at him, took the papers with a trembling hand.

"Your welcome." He said in a flat voice. "I was not expecting to see you here Miss Granger, I thought you were working at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures." He said, and she meekly nodded.

"Yes, I…" Hermione was about to answer, and regaining her thoughts, she felt suddenly angry at the wizard in front of her who spoke to her as if she were an acquaintance from long ago and who now was a complete stranger, greeting her merely out of courtesy.

"No." She said and looked up at him with tearful eyes. "It's not fair!" She said in a whisper-shout shaking her head. " _You_  left!  _For almost a year!_  And even when I asked you not to!" She said and stepped away from the wall and further away from him.

"I don't even know for how long you've been in the country and I've-" She said but stopped mid-sentence because she felt like crying. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath while holding her hair above her head. "Hermione I-" "-No" Hermione said interrupting Severus.

"I won't accept you leaving for months without a sign of  _anything_  and after bumping into each other act like we're total strangers. You returned my letters unopened; you can't just say those things as if nothing had happened and expect me to forgive and forget! I also believe if I hadn't come here we wouldn't have crossed paths in the first place"  _I've already lived this with Ron, I don't need to go through this again._

"Hermione." The tall wizard spoke to her, and she looked up to him, her legs incapable of moving. She wanted to go away; she wanted to  _run_. Before anyone could say anything else, she finally took in the wizard in front of her. He was far thinner than she last saw him. His face was paler, his skin was sallower than before, and the circles under his eyes were so pronounced, it looked like he had make up on.  _What happened to you?_  She desperately thought, her eyes watering and her skin tingled; she suddenly felt the need to display to him her neck and let him bite her. Shaking her head form her thoughts, her rational side kicked in she whispered, "I'm sorry," and took off running as fast as she could.

Getting away from the empty halls, Hermione slowed down her pace when she reached the reception of the second level as to not appear suspicious to others, but her legs didn't stop her as she passed quickly through the other wizards and witches.

Afraid her mind would start the gears, and she would freeze in place, she didn't stop until she reached the lift and pressed the button indicating the fifth level of the Ministry, which led her to the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

Stepping out of the lift, Hermione felt like her mind had no saying the way her legs were taking her.

She went up some black stairs and turned to her left on the third hall. She stopped outside of an office with a gold engraving on the black door that said,  _Fleur Weasley_.

* * *

Hermione knocked on the door two times before she heard the soft voice of the witch calling her from the inside "Come in". Hermione made her way in, and the first thing she saw was the surprised face of Fleur Weasley staring back at her.

"Yes?" The veela asked her, and Hermione didn't know how to respond. She hadn't intended to come to Fleur at all, in fact, she didn't even know if she was still working or if she'd already left for maternity leave; it was already middle of March, and Fleur was due in a month or two.

"I'm..." The witch said with red cheeks and a lump in her throat. "Why don't you sit?" The French witch asked, and Hermione meekly nodded before closing the door behind her and sitting on a chair in front of the small desk.

Hermione sat in silence for a few moments while the heavily pregnant blonde put some papers in a little box.

"When are you leaving?" Hermione finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Tomorrow's my last day." Fleur said half smiling, "Three weeks ago they told me I could already leave, but I'm confident she won't be born until May, and I'm perfectly capable to still work. Being a translator eez not such a 'ard-working job you zee. But anyway, I want to arrange everything for me to take; even though I will be at 'ome I still want to do some work there." The blond said while magically arranging papers inside her desk and some on the box.

"You're having a daughter?" Hermione asked in a surprised tone with a smile. Even though the Weasleys weren't strictly her family, she loved them as if they were.

"Oh," Fleur replied startled with a light reddish tone adorning her porcelain cheeks. It was clear she didn't intend Hermione to know she was having a daughter or anyone for a fact. "Yes, yes I am." She said quickly recovering and flashed at her a broad smile.

"The mediwitch told me a few days ago. Don't tell Bill though, or anyone for that fact. I want eet to be a surprise, and I intended eet to be for me as well, but I just couldn't resist. But yes, she's a girl.  _Ma petite ange_." Fleur said, the last word directed at her belly as she looked at it warmly while caressing it with one hand. They weren't the best of friends, but after their letter exchanges and meetings about Hermione's situation, Hermione could say Fleur and she had become something more than acquaintances; she felt closer to the blonde veela more than she did to the Weasley twins.

Hermione watched her fondly from her chair, and Fleur suddenly remembered the young witch's presence in her office.

"You never did tell me the reason for your visit. Eez there something wrong 'Ermione?"

"Oh," She said, the flashback of moments earlier coming back to her mind and she fought to keep prying tears away from her eyes. She didn't want to cry in front of Fleur, and she didn't want to feel that way either. She didn't want to feel so torn on the inside.

"I bumped into Severus just now in the Department of Law Enforcement. I felt his presence and feelings before I saw him and… practically told him to piss off because he never said a word to me for almost a year and I don't know for how long he'd been in the country and didn't even  _try_  to make any contact at all." She said in a small voice while looking at her lap.

"The thing I still don't understand is why his veela blood and his feelings are so… passionate? I know he's a very skilled occlumens, but it's almost as if the veela blood surpassed his ability to suppress the feelings and empty his mind. Virtually every encounter I ever had with him had this raw and pure emotion to it all, and I'm almost afraid to think what would've happened if he didn't wear his pendant before." She said touching absentmindedly the broken pendant with her fingers and continued, "I know veelas are most attracted to their mates, but I never thought their mate's presence or smell would drive them  _mad_  with lust and obsession with just standing near them."

"Eet doesn't," Fleur said, and Hermione looked up, shooting her a suspicious look.

"What do you mean? There hasn't been a time where I've seen Severus act normally without a sedative or the veela potion running through his veins. And before he started taking them, he wouldn't have acted normally if it weren't for the pendant he wore; he told me it prevented him to sense his mate."

"There's your answer," Fleur told her and took a sip of water from her glass. "You fancy some?" She asked the brunette, and she politely rejected it before asking, "You think the pendant and the veela potions have something to do with it?" The blond only nodded at her.

"When a veela becomes of age and eet senses eets mate for the first time, eet really eez like the fairytales; eet's as if eet were love at first sight. But if the veela eezn't provoked by something to develop such raw emotions and feelings like the ones you're saying, eet'll behave just like any other normal wizard would. Eet could be the veela will behave a little more possessive and love-struck than the others around eet's mate, but, if the situation doesn't require eet, the veela won't behave as you are putting eet. An example could be when the mate's in a state of danger, or if they're about to have intercourse." Hermione blushed at Fleur words, but the veela continued, ignoring her,

"Now, in Severus' case, I suspect there 'ad been some factors which led 'im to develop 'is veela magic the way eet did. In the first place, you're almost twenty years younger than 'im. That to 'appen in a veela community eez extremely rare. Eet's not completely unheard of, but eet eez more common to see veelas and their mates from the same age, and eet's usually someone they already know. For Severus, eet would've been ideal to find 'is mate while 'e was still a student at 'Ogwarts."

"And why do you think it didn't happen like that? Why must his mate had to be born nineteen years later?" Hermione asked with a sad tone, thinking how unfair it must've been for Severus to have high hopes for finding his mate and having them crushed as the years passed,  _To have Lily as a mate,_  she sourly thought.

"No one really knows. Eet's magic. A veela's mate eez chosen according to both their needs, their magical compatibility and such. I would say the branch of Divination interferes with this topic, but there 'aven't been much studies on 'ow a veela's mate eez chosen. We're a rare kind you know." Fleur responded, and Hermione couldn't help but make a face at the word Divination. She didn't want to have anything else to do with it or anything that reminded her of Trelawney.

"But as I was saying, that fact already complicated Severus' situation. We also 'ave to consider 'is duty as a spy of the Order. So, when Severus sensed 'e wasn't going to meet 'is mate any time soon, 'e must've started using the pendant. You say eet didn't let 'im find 'is mate?" Fleur asked, and Hermione nodded.

"He told me, it not only suppressed his ability to find his mate, but it also suppressed his veela blood to fully develop."

"Ah. There's your answer 'Ermione. The moment 'e started wearing the pendant, 'is veela magic was completely suppressed. The veela magic eez part of 'imself, and I'm almost sure 'e treated eet as another being inside of 'im as you previously told me. I don't know for 'ow many years 'e wore eet, but eet must've been at least more than seventeen if 'e was working as a spy to the Order." Fleur said with a frown, and the gears in Hermione's mind started to work.

"Of course!" She suddenly gasped, "So many years suppressing his veela blood; it's no surprise it all came the way it did." She said, and Fleur sighed in relief, having not to explain everything to the petite witch in front of her. "It must've taken a horrible toll on his magic." She made a face "It's just like an obscurial, but instead of suppressing all of his magic, he just suppressed the magic of his veela blood." She said, whispering the last part to herself.

"Yes well," Fleur said clearing her throat, taking Hermione out of her thoughts. "Magical blood or just magic, eet'z not 'ealthy what 'e did nor what 'e's doing." She said giving Hermione a pointed look and Hermione had to lower her sight to the ground. "But I believe that's a discussion for a different time, given that we're at work. I assume you 'ad to deliver those papers somewhere?" Fleur said, signalling Hermione's hands with the folder with the 'CONFIDENTIAL' stamp on it. She glanced down with her eyes as big as plates to the folder.

"Oh, Gods! I had to deliver this to Kingsley! I was already on the Department of Law Enforcement, but then I encountered Severus, and after... well, you know the rest." She said in a panicky voice, being irresponsible at work for the first time.

Just before she could make herself to leave Fleur told her, "'Ermione, you know Kingsley's office is on level one. Everybody knows that. And we were  _there_  just two weeks ago. Remember?"

"I…" Hermione trailed off and shook her head. She knew that. She was perfectly aware of where the office of the Ministry for Magic was; for Merin's sake, she visited that office more regularly than not!

_But then, why did I go to level two instead?_

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my favourite chapter I must admit, but nevertheless I hope you all enjoyed it. See you next time ;)


	21. An anniversary to remember

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I expected to upload sooner but I just started my new term at school and also the chapter became a lot longer than I expected it to be. Actually, I had to crop off some parts because I already wanted to upload this and I didn't want to take any longer because I started getting frustrated I couldn't finish it. Also, this chapter does not have a rating (I think) and there will be mature content in future chapters, may be explicit, but I'm just warning you haha.
> 
> Thank you all for your kudos, comments and bookmarks <3

* * *

St Mungo's never was a place where Hermione could feel safe. After her visit with the others back in their fifth year, there was something in it that she couldn't quite place, a feeling of uncertainty accompanied by an underlying sense of grief. She knew hospitals were a place where just as it received death, it would receive life. But although she knew it, she'd never had any experiences alike to as feeling safe in a hospital. _People come to get ill in a hospital_ she thought whenever she entered one in the times she accompanied her parents when they had to supervise any surgery.

She'd seen all the people overwhelmed inside the place, some crying with joy, grief, and some of them a little bit of both. But her experiences inside of a hospital never left her without feeling tense and without a headache. Ever since Hermione was little, she knew a career in the health branch was _definitely_ out of her options. Of course, as time changed, her vision about healing became different; the need to learn as many healing spells as possible as well as being available to nurse her friends in times of despair were more pressing to as those of her feeling uncomfortable and queasy. But nevertheless, hospitals weren't on her top list of favourite places to visit, and her stay at the hospital in Australia further confirmed it.

Hermione walked through the ground floor, glad no one paid any mind to her (she had glamoured herself), made herself known to the receptionist, and asked to see Cecilia Griffins in the Muggle section of the Spell Damage floor. She hated they had to change her mother's name, but she could not afford what occurred in Sydney to happen once more.

"Hello, I'm here to see Cecilia Griffins in the Spell Damage floor please." She said to the receptionist, and the small witch with big eyeglasses quickly recognised her.

"Oh, Miss Granger," The receptionist told her in a soft voice so that no one could hear, "Yes of course. Just sign here please." She told her, and Hermione meekly smiled at her while she wrote a fake name in the reception list. She was glad Kingsley had managed to use his influence to keep the whole incident quiet and made some of the staff to also preserve secrecy about her situation, giving her some piece of mind regarding the entire situation.

"How's your mother doing?" The black-haired receptionist asked her after months of receiving constant visits from Hermione.

"The same as usual, nothing has changed really." Hermione responded in a sad tone, "But thank you for asking Flora, I hope someday I'll be able to tell you otherwise." She said and turned to the nearest lift.

Reaching the fifth floor, she made her way towards the small hospital's gift shop next to the little tearoom with many tables and chairs.

"Hey love, what can I get you today?" The man behind the counter told Hermione.

"A simple bouquet please," Hermione replied, flashing him a smile with her glamoured lips.

"Sure thing," The salesman told her and magically appeared a small bouquet with Transvaal daisies, chrysanthemums and roses, which varied from yellow, orange and pink.

"Thank you."

The Muggle section of the Spell Damage floor was at the far end of the fourth level; one had to turn several times in the aisles to be able to reach it. Not many Muggles were hospitalised for too long, and if they were, it was best to keep them inside the ward and far from the magical patients than to let them roam around the hospital. And although there were many Muggle-Repelling charms inside of St Mungo's, they preferred it that way to avoid any unnecessary _obliviates_.

"Hey, Mum," Hermione said, sitting down a chair nearest to the bed her mother rested in. She removed her glamour before her mother could see her, and with a small smile, she placed the bouquet in the bedside stand.

"Oh Hi." Helen Granger said, noticing Hermione, "How do you do? I'm Cecilia Griffins apparently. Your face seems a bit familiar… Are you a nurse? I'm not completely certain, but I believe I'm in a hospital of sorts. Although I don't know why though, maybe it was because of yesterday's candy rain." She said, and with a face of contempt, she started with the bread pudding laying on the tray before her.

Hermione discreetly wiped away a tear escaping from her eye and with a bleak smile she took out _The Great Gatsby_ , one of her mother's favourite books and began reading from where the bookmark left.

* * *

 

"You've been awfully quiet ever since a couple of weeks now. Is something wrong?" Harry asked Hermione, sitting next to her in the steps of the back door of the Burrow.

"It's nothing, I just happen to be very stressed about work lately. My boss just gave me the review concerning werewolves back from Kingsley, and it has just consumed me." Hermione told Harry, accepting the glass of butterbeer with gin from him and took a sip from it.

"Need any help with it?" Harry told her, and Hermione smiled, shaking her head. "Thank you, but no. It's mostly paperwork, and although we have Kingsley on our side, it's not that easy to change the law."

"How's your mum doing?" Harry asked, after not knowing what else to talk about with Hermione. Although they were living together, both his Auror training and her sometimes late-hour working kept them from having dinner together every day. They also were mostly away with their respective partners whenever they had free time, so that meant both Harry and Hermione had less time to have an in-depth conversation with each other, which led them to talk mostly about superficial, non-serious topics.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Flora, the receptionist at St Mungo's; she's the same as last week, and the week before that, and the week after the incident at Sydney." She told him with a bitter tone, leaving her butterbeer glass down the stairs of the small back porch of the Burrow and hugged her legs.

"That bad?" Harry asked, and Hermione nodded, putting down her head between her legs, a small sob escaping her lips.

"I'm so sorry Hermione."

"I ought to feel grateful though; she's not unwell. Physically speaking that is. And, there are times where she has flashes of memories, and some include me, but she mostly babbles nonsensical sentences, and ends up not recognising me at all." She said through a cracked voice "The healer in charge of her told me the chances of me taking my mother home in the future are very slim. She represents a danger not only to the others but herself as well given her condition and… well, I'm no healer to be able to treat her, nor I'm in the house every hour of the day to supervise her, am I?" Tears were rolling down her cheeks and chin, and Hermione looked at Harry with apprehensive eyes and told him in a small voice,

"I know she's safer and better cared for in St Mungo's than anywhere else, and I also know, just like Neville's parents, my mother won't be able to return home, to return to how things were before."

Harry felt bad for Hermione and rubbed her back with his hand in small circles, trying his best to comfort his best friend. He knew she was still feeling guilty about her parents' attack, and although her mother was alive and physically fine, Hermione had tearfully confessed to him, after she returned to London, she would've preferred if her parents would've stayed obliviated if she knew what would happen before Hermione and Draco went there. She even shamefully told him she knew her mother would have better peace if she were dead, sparing her from the almost irreversible and atrocious damage the spell had done to her mind.

After the small burial of Hermione's father, she visited St Mungo's every day of the next three months to check on her mother and to see if there was any progress being made. And every time she went, she always left with a bitter taste on her mouth and disappointment trailing behind her. Although she protested and got angry with the Order because she felt like nothing had really changed because she still had to hide to be able to see her, she had to stop her daily visits to St Mungo's and limit them to one or two at a week. She now stood out from between wizards, and although she glamoured herself, it was bound someone started asking questions as to why there were so many visits to a Muggle who had no wizarding family.

After a pregnant pause between witch and wizard, Harry was ready to go back inside Teddy's second birthday party, and heard softly from his right side, "I saw him the other day, Harry."

"What do you mean you saw him? Who are you talking about?" He asked her, and she looked up at him with knowing eyes and realisation dawned on Harry. "Oh," was all he managed to say, and she nodded.

"It was an accident really that it happened. Or at least it's what I want to believe anyway." She told him, and he motioned her to continue. She sighed. "I was asked to send some papers to Kingsley, and while I'd thought I wasn't distracted, I ended searching for his office on the second floor, instead of the first.

"I… before anything happened I already could feel his presence, and suddenly… he was there."

"What happened then?" Harry asked with a curious and worrisome tone.

"Nothing." She said and gave him an unconvincing closed-lip smile, "I actually told him off because of how he treated me since our last encounter." Hermione said, avoiding the fact she hadn't been able to forget the moment ever since it happened, and she'd told him off out of an outburst and not because she never wanted to see him ever again.

"Does Draco know?" Harry asked, feeling he already knew the answer. Hermione shook her head and said, "I haven't told him. I don't know if it's a good idea. I feel that I must, for I don't want to keep any secrets from him, but at the same time I don't know if it would be necessary to worry him; I don't plan to see him ever again."

She said resting her chin on her folded arms resting on her legs and closed her eyes, feeling the fresh air from April brushing her cheeks and hair.

* * *

 

Two sharp door knocks startled Hermione out form her work, and fearing it might be her boss, she rushed to the door and opened it to see a pair of blue-grey eyes looking at her.

"Draco! I wasn't expecting you here; I thought we agreed we'd meet each other at five." Hermione said with a surprised tone with a smile on her lips no less.

"And I was expecting from the brightest witch of our age to be able and read the time." He said to her and pointed at the old clock hanging from her wall, marking a quarter past five in the afternoon.

"Oh," Was all that Hermione could say with reddened cheeks and Draco smirked at her, "Yes, _oh_. Now come along Granger, before we lose out reservation. It took me days to book it, and I don't fancy waiting two hours for a table to be available, I'm quite hungry if you must know." He said and helped Hermione to put on her coat, giving her a gentle kiss on her lips before leaving.

"Do you think your father has something to do with these new threats? With the potion and the killings?" Hermione softly asked Draco while caressing his white-blond hair with her fingers. They were sitting on a loveseat at Malfoy Manor, where they could hear the soft April rainfall outside.

After their lovely evening at the new Mediterranean restaurant Diagon Alley just opened, Draco and Hermione returned to his family manor; Draco's mother was away to Paris with his father, who had only recently been liberated from his house arrest. Although Draco was utterly against it, her mother had convinced him to let her take him to Paris.

_"Draco, your father, has been able to leave the house ever since January and he hasn't because he's afraid to." Her mother told him a few nights before their trip. "Besides, these attacks began with your father in the house did they not? He isn't allowed to use magic for another year and a half, and all of his letters are not only intercepted by the Ministry but by me as well! How much of a doltish fool do you think I am? I've been, and I will be looking after your father until he's a free and reformed man. He has the trace charm for Merlin's sake!" Draco had never seen her mother speak with such manner. Even when they were under Voldemort's reign inside their manor, her mother had managed to keep her posture to the very last, never did she once let the other see how distraught she was with everything happening. Maybe she was just tired of pretending everything was fine anymore._

_"Draco," Her mother told him gently a few moments after her outburst, "I know your father has made severe mistakes these past few years, and I also know he's not perfect. Nor am I, nor anyone. But I've known him almost all my life, and I know, perilous as some were, the decisions you father has made in the past have always been for the benefit of us. Draco, you must believe me, sweetheart." Narcissa said and cupped Draco's cheek in her hand, making him look at her in the eyes, "These years have been rough on our family, and now that your father can leave the house, he is in danger; the remaining Death Eaters will want to kill him." She said, and her voice almost faltered when she mentioned the Death Eaters, "The Aurors have promised we're not at peril, and even though he denies it, I know your father is still scared. And I don't want to spend the rest of my years locked up in this manor without being able to enjoy the end of the war. Let me take him to Paris, let me demonstrate to him one can be happy again, I promise to keep a good eye on him."_

After the passionate declaration of her mother, Draco had to concede to her idea, for he hated the most when his mother cried, and she was already on the verge of tears after their conversation. Draco wanted to believe in his mother, he did. But just as she had kept her façade in those dreadful months, so did her father when she was around. Draco had seen the evil in his father's eyes when torturing and killing Muggles, and whenever Voldemort would praise him for anything. He'd also been scared too, but Draco knew his father still believed in blood supremacy and everything the Death Eaters stood by.

He knew how much his mother adored and loved his father, and also knew how it would destroy her if he were to be killed by any Death Eater. But in honesty, Draco knew their lives would be far better without his father in them. As months went by, Draco's suspicion about his father behaviour had only grown. At first, he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and had almost believed him when he seemed scared to leave the manor, but his actions, words and letters (Draco had managed to read some of them), had all just seemed odd. Innocent enough, but something was off. It was then when Draco began to think his "fear" of not going out was just an act to maintain suspicion off of himself.

"I can't be sure," He responded to Hermione, leaning on the hand which caressed his blond locks. "If you were to ask me a yes and no question without any maybes, I would say yes. His behaviour is odd, and I believe this is just all an act for my mother and the Ministry." He said opening his eyes and looked at her worrisome face, "But even if he was plotting something, he must have a hell of a contact to do it, because not only is he unable to do magic, but he doesn't have much monetary power anymore." He said grabbing her hand and kissed the back of it, and Hermione relaxed a little bit.

A moment of silence passed between the two lovers, and after a moment of consideration, Draco looked up at Hermione and said, "Have I told you, you have the prettiest smile?" She blushed, "I sometimes blame my mother for loving my father too much, for loving him despite everything he's done," Draco continued, "but with you in my life, now I pretty much understand when people say they would sacrifice themselves for their loved ones. If you, even for a moment, be in danger I would do anything…" He said caressing her face with his hand, his voice low, "I just… want to see you smile every day, I want to be able to hear your melodic voice," He said, his thumb tracing her lips faintly, "to see the brightness in your eyes looking at mine, to see and hear your laughter at every moment, and the shape of your lips every time I kiss you," He said in a whisper.

"Hermione," He said and got closer to her, their faces inches away from one another, "I know last year wasn't the best year for you. Not only for what happened to your family but… I know the decision you made concerning my godfather was a difficult one. I would never blame you if you came to care and love him, nor if you decided to stay with him -after all, it's nature we're talking about." He said and softly put his fingers on Hermione's lips before she could say anything. "I don't know where he is now, and I know you were hurting after he left. I know you had started to care for him. But," He said and looked into her eyes, his gaze so intense it made Hermione blush.

"Even with it all happening, I can't be more grateful to have you still. I know it wasn't your duty to stay, nor was it your duty to help me heal the wounds I have, but you did. And all I want and care for is to see your smile every day and to be able to look in your eyes and say you've cushioned all my falls and that's all I need to feel redemption." He said and cupped her face on both of his hands.

"I promise to give you everything I can and have, and I also promise I will never hurt you, or least I promise to try not to. And I know this may sound very not like me, but I want you to know that you have all my heart, without any objection." He said and crashed his lips against hers, his hands grabbing the back of her head, his fingers entwining with her wild curls, while the other grasped her small waist.

Their lips savoured each other's, and they embraced each other, not wanting to let go of the other. Their intense and passionate encounters always ended with one another feeling they couldn't get enough from one another. Hermione remembered the first time they had engaged in sex, where they were both nervous and in their sixth grade, her being a virgin and not being experienced -at all, and Draco equally nervous but because he told her it was the first time it actually meant something for him and it wasn't just a fling for the night. As time progressed, making love to Draco became that, making _love_ to one another, and engulfing themselves to one another, forgetting about anything and everyone else.

At first, Hermione had felt guilty for not telling Draco of her encounter with Severus, but she soon forgot all about it, and she knew she didn't love anyone else more than she loved Draco. His words of endearment for her only reaffirmed her feelings for him and she knew she was in the right place.

_**May 2, 2000** _

The second anniversary commemorating the end was to be held at Hogwarts, just like the year before had been. Minerva had invited every single person who had participated in the war directly or indirectly; although the final battle was at Hogwarts, the second war had begun years ago. The Ministry had offered to send as many Aurors as possible, for it was going to be the single most important event in the wizarding society for a couple of years. And not only was the press and loads of journalists from the Daily Prophet and other newspapers and magazines would be there, but many wizarding families, varying from Pure-bloods to Muggle parents of Muggle-Born students would be there too.

Hermione and Harry were gathered in the drawing room at Grimmauld Place, waiting for their respective partners to arrive so they could finally leave towards the celebration. The time of arrival at the castle was to be at 5 o'clock for the beginning of the ceremony. All those who had died or perished at the cost of the war would be mourned, and then, Harry was invited once again to give a small speech about his life as the chosen one and some motivational lines he had to offer to those still very much affected for the war. Then it was dinner at the Great Hall. The students who attended Hogwarts were too, able to participate in the ceremony; the younger ones had to be in the sight of prefects and also had an early curfew for safety purposes.

"Harry stop it." Hermione said and removed his hand from his tie, "That's the eleventh time you fix your tie. It's fine."

"You know, I don't quite fancy much these types of events," Harry said, fixing once more his tie in the mirror.

"I do know." She told him quietly and gave him a sheepish smile. "I'm not a fan of these type of events too, but it won't be for at least three anniversaries more before we can get out from them. I hate to be the centre of attention and have almost everyone watch my every step even more, but I prefer this than to have… Voldemort as a ruler." She said looking into the eyes of Harry and he nodded, understanding. Shortly after, both Ginny and Draco arrived at Grimmauld place, and they all apparated to Hogsmeade to arrive at Hogwarts by carriage.

They arrived at the entrance, anxiously waiting for Kingsley to acknowledge anniversary just like last year and they could see they were fewer people than last year, almost all of them wearing smiles on their faces and formal robes.

"Why isn't Bill here? We were talking just the other day about tonight, but I don't see him." Harry asked Ginny in a low voice.

"He stayed with Fleur back at their cottage. Fleur wasn't feeling too well, and she said she looked too _fat_ in her dress to come today so they couldn't make it." Ginny said rolling her eyes at the word "fat".

Halfway through dinner, a house-elf popped in the middle of the Great Hall, and many curious faces turned to the little creature, pondering what it could be doing in there. The little elf wondered between tables and didn't stop until he found a familiar face.

"Bimky!" Ginny exclaimed, seeing the little elf looking quite lost. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" She asked the elf who looked quite relieved to see her finally.

"Who is Bimky?" Ron questioned with a lost face, not recalling ever seeing nor hearing the name "Bimky" before.

"He's Bill's house-elf." She told her in a dismissive tone; unsurprised her brother didn't know about it.

"Bill has a house-elf?!" Ron exclaimed, "It's not fair! I've been trying to convince mum to get one since last year!" Ron said, and Hermione cleared her throat, shooting him a death glare so intense, it almost seemed as if she was trying to curse Ron just from looking at him. "I mean, err-" He said after seeing her, and she just rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh, just shush it you dolt." Ginny said exasperated, "It was a gift from Fleur's mother for the baby. Anyway, is something wrong Bimky?" She said nicely to the house-elf with concern in her face.

"Oh no Miss, everything is great!" Bimky said with joy, moving its little ears. "Bimky was asked to tell master's family to please come to the hospital. Mistress baby is being born." It said happily to Ginny.

"Oh, Merlin! I have to get mum! Ron, go tell the others!" Ginny said standing up and ran towards her mother's table to tell her the news.

"Has she been born yet?" Hermione asked the elf, and it shook its head.

"Bimky doesn't know Miss, all Bimky heard was Master tell Bimky to tell his family."

"How do you know she'll have a daughter?" Ron asked while standing up looking at his mother's table in which he could see her quickly standing up alongside his father, both looking in the verge of tears.

"I-I don't" Hermione quickly responded, trying not to look at Harry whose eyes were questioning. "I just happen to think it would be nice if Fleur had a daughter, that's all." She said and was relieved Ron was half-listening to her as he turned to see his family approaching them.

"Come, Ron! We must head to St. Mungo's!" Molly said to her son, tears running down her cheeks and with a smile on her so big, Hermione thought for a moment if the smile wasn't stapled to her cheeks.

"Do you want to come too?" Ginny hurriedly said to both and Hermione, and she shook her head. "I'll visit Fleur tomorrow I believe, I don't want her to feel uncomfortable with too many people crammed inside the hospital." Hermione said with a smile and Harry quickly seconded the idea, "Yeah, we'll go tomorrow, Gin, as Hermione said, I think the Weasleys are enough to keep Fleur company this evening." He said, and Ginny nodded before rushing with her family to St Mungo's.

"You're not going?" Draco asked Hermione and Harry, and they both shook their heads before taking their seats at their table once more.

"How long do you think they'll be gone?" Harry asked Hermione.

"Oh, I don't know Harry, they might be there all night, sometimes giving birth can take hours." She said, and Harry nodded and took a sip of his drink.

Hermione saw from afar the Great Hall Narcissa Malfoy, waving elegantly towards Draco and slightly smiling after he saw her.

"Granger, I'm sorry to leave you like this, but I must go to my mother for some minutes. She may not work a formal job, but she's excellent at making connections for potential contractors or to do business, and early today she told me some of the Architects who remodelled The Palace of Beauxbatons would be here tonight, and she wants me to speak to them to help her close the deal for the new manor." He said and threw Hermione an apologetic look, and she smiled at him and gestured him with her head to ho.

"Go, I'll be fine, Harry's here."

"If you need anything, remember I'm here," Draco said kissing her chastely on her lips and walked over where his mother was.

Half an hour passed and as young wizards made themselves to leave, some older wizards stood near their table and Harry looked at one of them with interest. "I don't want to leave you alone…" Harry said with an apologetic tone, but his head turned where an old wizard stood.

"It's okay Harry; I'll just go where Neville and Hannah are." She said, and both stood up and went different ways.

"Oh, Hermione, hello." Neville greeted her, and she smiled at the couple, sitting right next to Hannah.

"How are you enjoying the evening?" Hannah asked her and took a sip from her goblet.

"It's quite alright actually. I can't deny it feels quite similar the way last anniversary went. And although there are a little fewer people, I think everyone looks happier than last year." Hermione responded with a smile.

"If you don't mind ladies, I'll go get us another bottle of wine. Seamus drank the last one almost all by himself." Neville said and excused himself before going to the table where they held all spirits and alcoholic beverages.

"So… how's it been with Malfoy? I read the article in _Witch Weekly_ saying you came second to winning couple of the year." Hannah said wrinkling her nose while smiling.

"Oh, I wouldn't know actually. I haven't had the chance to read it yet." Hermione said blushing, not wanting Hannah to know she preferred a thousand times better to read Professor Vector's articles in the _Daily Prophet_ , 'Arithmancy today' than _Witch Weekly_. "But I don't pay much attention to that; besides, even if it were true, I don't think Harry and Ginny will be dethroned any time soon." She said chuckling, remembering how Ginny had gloated about it for two days before she soon became fed up with the reporters who wouldn't leave her alone, not even when she was practising Quidditch, _especially_ for Rita Skeeter.

"No, I think they won't," Hannah said smiling, before flashing quickly a glance at Neville, who was still at the beverages station and took a rather generous sip at from her goblet.

"And how are things with Neville? Is it fun living together?"

"Yeah, you could say that." She said with an unconvincing smile.

"You don't sound very happy about it," Hermione said, a frown on her face. She knew Neville might've taken things a little bit too quickly with Hannah, but the more she thought about it, wizards in general, took thing far quicker than Muggles did. _Even with the fact we live up to a hundred and fifty years, we're still behaving as if we were still in the middle ages,_ she thought with displeasure, remembering how most of wizarding society treated children like little adults, and most, already betrothed since childhood, married right after graduating from Hogwarts, and the ones that weren't betrothed before, did too.

"Hermione, can I trust you with something?" Hannah said, taking Hermione out of her thoughts, "Of Course," Hermione nodded with a stern face. _I've never been the one to gossip, and even if I were, I wouldn't tell on her,_

"It's not that I'm not happy with him, because I truly am, and I love him with all my might, I do! But… I sometimes get the feeling he pays more attention to his Auror training and his Herbology apprenticeship than me. And I know it's wrong of me to think that because I know it isn't true, and I also know that from the start we knew things were going to be a little rough for a couple of years because of it, and we wouldn't see each other as much but… I don't know Hermione." Hannah sighed looking down her nails on her lap before continuing, "Neville has told me a couple of times to leave my job at the Leaky Cauldron because he says he has enough money to support us both while we're still studying; when he's free I'm at work or studying, and vice versa. But I don't want to leave my job not because I enjoy it, but because I don't want him to think I'm an opportunist, and I've still got years ahead to become a Healer. I'm not hesitant about my feelings for him, nor I doubt his, but to tell you the truth, if we weren't already living together, I don't think this would last." She said and wiped with her hand a tear falling down her cheek.

"Oh Hannah, I'm sorry to hear it. But Neville is one of the kindest persons I know, and if he's offering you to quit a job you don't fancy much to spend more time with you, and he can afford it, I don't think he would see you as an opportunist, not in the least. He also seems very in love with you" She said with a fond smile and grabbed her hand gently.

"Thank you, Hermione," Hannah said and squeezed Hermione's fingers lightly. "But that's the thing. Neville is just too kind with everybody, and even if I accepted his offer, I wouldn't know if he's bothered by it in the future because he's too polite to tell me, and I don't want that."

"Yes, but you know it's not going to be forever. Anyhow, I believe his training as an Auror will end in December, so even if you didn't quit your job, you'd have more time to spend with him."

"Yes, he told me last week." She said with a small smile, "Said that Gawain Robards, the new Head of the Auror Office told Harry, Ron and Neville that they easily out bested their last year trainees, and by December they should be all set." Hannah said, and Hermione squeezed her hand back in an attempt to comfort Hannah.

Their conversation was interrupted by Minerva who approached the centre of the Great Hall to make an announcement.

"After this year's absence, Professor Snape will be returning as of next September to claim the position as Potions Master once more, whilst Professor Slughorn will be finally retiring from teaching and hopes the best to all future and past Hogwarts' students," Minerva said looking at both wizards, and while Professor Snape only inclined his head a bit forwards, Professor Slughorn smiled at everybody and raised his goblet before taking a sip out from it.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to be somewhere else at the moment." Hermione politely excused herself from the table and discreetly made her way out of the Great Hall, her feet dragging her to a place she knew only too well in her last year at Hogwarts.

* * *

 

She walked through the corridors and halls, making her way down to the dungeons and to the office of the potion's professors almost every student in the past years had been afraid of him in at least one occasion.

Hermione felt the air thicken and her breath became heavier, small droplets of sweat rolled down her temples as she grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, only to reveal the Potions Master himself standing in the centre of the room, almost as if waiting for her.

"What do I owe the pleasure tonight, Miss Granger?" Severus Snape cordially acknowledged Hermione, and she raised her eyebrow at him.

"I don't mean to be rude _Professor_ ," Hermione addressed him, "But it seems as if your mind had forgotten the events that took place last year. It would also seem you've forgotten as well that I'm no longer your student, and you're no longer my teacher. And after our last _proper_ meeting, I would've guessed we were in a first name basis by now, _Severus_." She said icily to him, and Severus closed his eyes at the sound of his name on her lips, doing it so without her noticing it.

"You've noticed, my behaviour has… changed ever since we last saw each other in this room." He commented, and Hermione slowly nodded, realising too, she no longer felt the pressing feeling to be bitten by him at his presence nor the strong and raw emotions in her stomach that weren't hers. "What did you do?" She softly spoke, not knowing if she should feel relieved or not.

"In my time away in Rumania, with the help of another Potions master, I was able to recreate a potion potent enough to suppress with ease the veela blood or the pheromones my body has. I no longer require taking it daily, and I believe it is enough for me to live the short life I have left in _tranquillity_." He said, his nasal and velvety voice marking his words. Hermione tried not to shiver and suppressed the tingling feeling on the pit of her stomach, hoping Severus could no longer feel what she was feeling at the moment. _He might've taken a potion all right, but that doesn't change how I'm feeling she sourly thought, wait, do I even know how I'm feeling?_

Severus could see Hermione mentally debating with herself and gave an impatient sigh and said "If you're quite finished berating with yourself may I be excused for this evening, Miss Granger? I assure you I have more important things to do than to stand here." He said, and Hermione was pulled out from her thoughts.

"Wait!" She suddenly exclaimed and grabbed his forearm without thinking, his raised eyebrow at the motion was his only response, and Hermione widened her eyes. _How reliable potent this potion really is? I don't even want to think about it when the effect wears off,_

Hermione bit her lip before saying "You don't have to do this! I-I know we already talked about it a year ago, but I talked to a veela about our situation!" _That_ got his attention. Severus gave her a curt nod, signalling her to continue, and Hermione did, "I talked to a quarter veela, but whose blood is dormant, about it all…" Hermione said and blushed, remembering all the details Fleur had asked of her concerning Severus, "I talked to this veela because almost all her family is of veela descent and she gave me useful information for how to handle… all of this." She said and could already see the gears turning in Severus' head trying to decipher who this veela was.

She knew it wouldn't take him long, so she continued, "You can't keep taking these potions, Severus!" She exclaimed, and Severus looked at her in the eyes at the sound of her name, "If you keep taking them you'll only make your life even shorter; the way you acted ever since the beginning was because you repressed your magic with _more_ magic. You repressed it for so long, your veela magic – _all of your magic,_ became unstable and that why you can't control yourself around me if you're not drugged with some potion. Your body has become so accustomed by it, you'll need detoxification from it, just as if it were any other drug." She said and stepped closer to him she took off the pendant and continued with a soft voice, "If you're going to work here at Hogwarts, you won't need any potion. And with time, you won't need it any longer. With time… maybe it won't be as before you realised I was your mate, but we'll be able to treat each other quite normally, without the necessity to have a restricting potion." She said and looked up at him, "This is why you've been acting the way you have," Hermione showed him the pendant on her hand, and Severus looked at it with pointing eyes and the at her.

"So, you expected me, the second you turned seventeen years old, to lure you into my chambers and hope you said yes?" He asked angrily, his figure towering over her petite one and Hermione felt trapped between him and the wall.

"The moment I knew if I had any mate out there, that it wouldn't be of my age, I had to wear it. I couldn't risk _anything_ , Hermione. And even less with the Dark Lord present. After what happened to Lily I-" He stopped and looked sideways, as if not wanting to look at Hermione in the face and continued, "I preferred to live a short life and die alone than to cause more suffering. Besides," he said, his scowl back in place, "I would've lost not only my job, but I would've put at stake my position in both the Order and as a Death Eater if I had known back then you were my mate. I'm sure none of those things would've mattered, but it would've been hazardous."

"But you didn't know." Hermione said, her eyes piercing his, "And neither did I. No one knew what would happen. You've been treating the veela as if it were an entirely different entity inside of your body, but the veela _is_ you. Not just part, but all of you. You _are_ the veela. And I believe, the moment you start believing it so yourself will be the moment you won't need any potion."

"Why did you keep the pendant?" He asked with curiosity in his voice, after a long pause had passed between them.

She thought about it for a moment before answering, "I don't know." She told him in a soft voice, and he looked up, uncertainty on his features. "I think I kept it for the same reason I didn't want you to go." She finally said putting on the pendant and tucked it under her robes.

Severus gave her a long and pensive stare, and she continued, "But whatever my reasons are, you still can't keep poisoning yourself." Severus gave her a long and pensive stare, and if it weren't for the dim light the dungeons provided, she could've almost sworn she saw the corner of his mouth turn upwards, he said "Good to know your talent to boss around people has been kept intact. I'll see you around," He said, and his face had a trace of ambiguity before adding, "Hermione." And with a curt nod, he turned and left towards his chambers, leaving Hermione all flustered and alone in his office.

"Where have you been? We were starting to get worried about you!" Ginny Weasley exclaimed to Hermione, after spotting her just outside the entrance of the Great Hall.

"Oh Ginny, I'm sorry, I was… at the lavatory." Hermione said in her most convincing tone, and Ginny seemed to buy it, she looked way too excited to be able to put much attention to it. "I wasn't expecting you to return at all; I'm assuming it was a quick birth?" Hermione asked, and Ginny nodded.

"We arrived just after Fleur had given birth, she was moody as hell and Mum couldn't stop crying, but the Healer in charge told us the baby was born healthy and Fleur should be able to return to Shell Cottage by tomorrow evening."

"And how is...?" Hermione asked, not wanting to give away the fact she already knew Fleur had a daughter.

"She! I have a niece! I'm an aunt, Hermione!" Ginny said with a joyful smile.

"Oh, Gin that's brilliant!" Hermione said hugging Ginny, "And how did they decide to name her?"

"Victoire, Victoire Weasley. Fleur and Bill said they named her that way because she was born today; it means victory in French." Ginny said, and Hermione smiled, no longer feeling bittersweet about the night.

_**June 4, 2000** _

"I don't know if we should be having cake, for if I remember, today is not your birthday." Blaise Zabini commented with a smirk, his index finger sticking in the white, sparkling icing of huge birthday cake. "Hmmm vanilla," He smirked before Draco could shove him away from the cake.

"Oh, piss off Zabini! You know how my mother is with birthdays, and after I told her I couldn't make it to her birthday party for me because I had work tomorrow, she insisted on doing it today." Draco said and welcomed his best friend alongside his pale silvery eyed girlfriend to their manor garden. His mother had happily hosted a small birthday party for him inviting all of his friends, which weren't much for that matter, and encouraged him to invite some of Potter's friends too (which after he refused to do so, in the end, he wasn't so against the idea). "And don't go sticking any more fingers to the cake before it is served, or my mother will have a fit."

The people arrived gradually, and although it was a rather small gathering, all of the young guests were either Gryffindor or Slytherin, Luna being the sole exception. And of course, all of the family and friends her mother invited

"If you had known back in school this party would happen, people would've said you were mad," Hermione said to Draco with a smile while biting her lip.

"I've decided to blame you for it," Draco said with a smirk and took a sip from his firewhisky glass.

"Me? Oh, please do enlighten me how you came to that conclusion." She said with an arched eyebrow.

"Granger, if we weren't together, I certainly wouldn't have invited Potter and the others."

"Harry may be my best friend, but it's you who goes out for lunch with him, and Neville three times a week! And don't get me started on all the nights we go out drinking at Three Broomsticks!" She said, and Draco pretended not to hear her.

"I'm going to deny what I'm about to say, but if Weasley wasn't so resentful, I believe I might actually enjoy his company," Draco said, and Hermione rolled her eyes at him with a smile on her lips.

"He isn't resentful, he's just started dating this girl from his Auror training and fancies more to have lunch with her," Hermione said, remembering how Ron was ecstatic when he told them, and even more when he mentioned she was three years their senior.

"I even invited the twat today, but he says this place is still "forbidden ground" for him. Got nothing against the bloke, I understand him, but his excuse of "having to help Fred with the joke shop seemed a bit over the top."

"That's actually true you know, Molly has been driving George mad with the wedding and Fred can't do it alone."

"Hope I'm not interrupting something?" Pansy said approaching them.

"Pans you made it!" Draco said hugging his childhood friend.

"How are you, Pansy? Did Japan treat you well?" Hermione said greeting the raven-haired witch.

"Oh, it was all right. The food was excellent, and although we spent much of our time there doing business with Kasper's clients, I did have my share of fun." She said smirking at her and Hermione wasn't so sure what that meant.

"Anyway, I must admit although this party has more Gryffindors than I would like, your mother never fails to host a great event. She even managed to get Daphne and Theo to come." She said and glanced at a close table, where both witch and wizard were talking.

"Draco hasn't told you, but he missed you _terribly_ this time you weren't here," Hermione said after realising Draco tried to get discreetly away from the conversation, and she wasn't going to let him leave her alone with Pansy again.

"Oh, is that's so?" Pansy said with a devilish grin, and Draco shot Hermione a look before saying, "I only missed having no one to talk about fashion around." He said, and Pansy rolled her eyes at him.

"I know you missed me Draco. And you'll be glad to hear I won't be making any long trips in the near future. I might be regularly visiting these months; my father's getting remarried, for the fourth time." She said, and even if it was just for a second, Draco didn't miss Pansy's bitter expression at the mention of her father. He knew Pansy's mother died when she was only five years old, and he also knew every stepmother she's ever had never liked her, and he was sure it was because of her breath-taking looks, much resembling her late mother's.

"Then I look forward in seeing you around more often," Draco said and made a toast.

"You don't look as fierce as you do in the air now, do you, Weasley?" Pansy said mockingly, and Ginny just rolled her eyes at her, whispering "Bitch" under her breath.

Ginny groaned in pain, and after seeing her ankle was sprained, she clutched it and started whispering curses at it. "Bloody ankle, so weak it can't take a minor fall." She said and winced when Harry approached her to take a look at it. "Oh bollocks, now I will have to stay away a few days from training. Gwenong won't like it." Ginny said, looking bitterly at her ankle.

After lunch, Draco invited them to the new rose garden and maze his mother built in the back of the grounds, and when they were returning, Ginny's foot got caught in a hole in the ground a gnome had made. "Those little pesters," Draco said under his breath remembering his mother asking him to help the house elves to remove them before the guests arrived.

"It's okay Gin, I think I got it," Neville said kneeling right beside Ginny's ankle and took out from his bag a small ointment jar.

"What is it?" Ginny asked nervously before Neville could put whatever-it-was inside of the jar.

"It's a new ointment I'm working on." Neville said smiling, "Professor Sprout helped me making it. With the healing charms Hannah has taught me, and my potion skills, I made this salve for any minor or severe sprain in the body. It also helps with bruises, and some minor cuts spells or glamours won't cover completely. I know I wasn't very good at potions at Hogwarts," Neville explained after seeing many faces in disbelief when he said the potions bit, missing the curious eyes of Pansy looking with fervour the ointment jar in Neville's hands. "But after graduating Hogwarts, I realised I wasn't bad at it, in fact, Professor Sprout even complimented me on it. I think I was just too terrified of Professor Snape to be able to execute an adequate potion." He said with a frown and shook his head, "But anyway, although this is still on the works I've tried on myself so there's no harm in there.

"Well, if you're going to put on the market, I might as well be your guinea pig to see if your salve is working," Ginny said with a sheepish smile and Neville beamed at her.

"Believe me; you'll feel much better." He said, and with two fingers, he inserted his hand in the jar and took out a generous amount of the salve, applying it to Ginny's sprained ankle. Not many seconds passed, and the ointment disappeared from the ankle, being absorbed by the skin, and Ginny saw her ankle with incredulity, making circles with it without wincing in pain.

"Neville that's brilliant!" Hermione said, everybody, looking with smiles at Ginny and then at Neville.

"I owe you. Big time." Ginny said with a smile, and quickly stood up from the grass and made a face to Pansy, whose eyes were glued to the jar and was deep in thought.

* * *

 

After everyone approached the tiny tables with tea and biscuits, Pansy saw her opportunity and excused herself from her friends.

"Say uhm, Longbott- I mean Neville," Pansy said quietly, approaching the tall wizard, who was standing by the flowers beside the fountain, inspecting one of them closely. The wizard turned to her and gave her an inquiring glance, but answered nonetheless, "Yes?"

She glanced to her sides to make sure no one was hearing and trying not to catch too much attention towards them, said, "I was wondering, if you happened to have more of your," She said and cleared her throat, speaking a little louder, "more of your ointment already made." She said, and after seeing he wasn't following, quickly added, "I would like to buy some of your product." She said and looked down to her golden bracelet, refusing to let a Gryffindor see her blush while asking for something.

"Oh sure." He said to her surprise, and she looked up, uncertainty on her eyes. "I actually have a new jar here with me, just in case you know." He said chuckling and handed her an unopened jar, just like the one he used on Ginny. "Here, take it. I'm still working on it, and there are still a few adjustments I need to make so you can take this free of charge. When I'm finished with it, I'll owl you and send you the finished product. You can also owl me if you use it and tell me if there are any alterations you consider to be made." He said, giving her a toothy smile and Pansy gaped at the unnaturally kind wizard in front of her. A wizard who spent years under her and her friends bashing and name-calling just because he was a Gryffindor and a friend of Harry Potter. If there were one word to describe how Pansy was feeling at the moment, it would be dastardly.

"Thank you, I-" "Hey Pans," Draco said, approaching the witch. She saw him and quickly shoved the jar inside her fancy little pouch, not before a pair of grey eyes caught sight of it.

"Daphne was looking for you," He said, not paying much attention to his words, his eyes focused on her pouch. Pansy reddened and without looking at both wizards, nodded at Draco and made her quickly her exit.

"What did you give her?" Draco questioned Neville, and he shrugged his shoulders, "She asked for some of the salve I put on Ginny's ankle, told her she could have it for free because it's not a finished product." Neville said, and Draco nodded at him before going after Pansy.

"Hey Pans," Draco said catching up at her, turning her with his hand after she wouldn't turn to him.

"Pansy," He repeated, and she looked up at him in the eyes, "What?" She asked.

"Why do you need that salve for?" Draco asked, and Pansy moved away from him, "It's none of your business Malfoy," She said trying to walk away from him, and he pressed, "Pans?" He asked with a stern face, and she rolled her eyes at him, "Fine! I asked Longbottom for the salve because a friend of mine was asking the other day for something like this and I found it! Happy?" She asked in exasperation and made a second move to get away from the wizard, only to find herself once more unable to.

"That's rubbish," Draco said, believing none of what Pansy had said. He looked at her closely and asked in a low voice "Does Kasper beat you?" He said, his cheeks turning a pale shade of pink.

"No!" Pansy scoffed and turned her eyes away from Draco, further indicating she was lying.

"Don't lie to me Pans, I know you better than anyone." He said and got closer to her, a worried look on his face as her eyes began to slightly water.

"Pans tell me the truth," He said and wiped a tear from her eye.

"It was just a one-time thing okay?" She said without looking at Draco, "It was just a one-time thing, and he promised he wouldn't do it again, and I believe him, but the glamours didn't cover it enough, so I hope Longbottom's salve will do the work and I-" She stopped herself before she could start to ramble and to cry furthermore; governess Audra hadn't taught her to behave so unladylike.

"You're like my sister Pans, I don't care how many times this happened, I care about you, and anyone who dares to touch you or treat you like that doesn't deserve you," Draco said, feeling furious at her boyfriend.

"Sorry I… I didn't want to tell you before because just as I said, it was a one-time thing and I know it won't happen again. So, I didn't think it would be necessary to worry you for nothing. Besides, not only it was an accident, but I really did something I shouldn't have, so I guessed that taught me better." She said quietly and before Draco could process the severity of what Pansy had just said he asked,

"When did it happen?"

She gave him a contemplative look before answering, "It was around last week." She said, and after wiping her tears away, she returned with the others.

Draco stood in place, still processing what her friend had just revealed to him. She didn't strike him as the submissive type in any form, and it not only surprised him but the words that Pansy had just spoken to him, appalled Draco.

What Draco couldn't still piece together was the fact she'd told him it had happened a week before, and if the glamours couldn't even cover enough to make it imperceptible, there were only to possible answers to it: Either Pansy was terrible at charms, and she couldn't make one properly, or it was much worse than she was letting on Draco to believe. And Draco had a feeling it was the latter.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always the first readers might find grammar mistakes that I'll correct over the week (It's 1 am for me please understand me haha), hope you enjoyed it and until next time ;)


	22. Revelations and a change of heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm sorry for not updating fast enough, this chapter was half finished a month ago but I fell in a pool of depression and ugh, can't concentrate enough to write. I'm sorry for it, and also I'll finish university in June so the workload is horrible, besides that 'm studying for an exam in November to enter another career and gosh, sorry. I'll try to upload faster. I'm sorry for any spelling, or grammar mistakes, I only revised it once.
> 
> THANK YOU all for your kudos, bookmarks and comments! I deeply appreciated them.
> 
> Please enjoy this chapter, Severus is back! And I also added a bit more of Pansy, it's not going to be often, but I consider her a big secondary character and yep. Please keep reading if you liked it!

* * *

 

_**June 1999** _

Severus carefully packed his things in the old suitcases he had and decided only to take the essential items. After all, in his year as a headmaster he hadn't bothered to move in his stuff he'd left in Spinners End, for when he killed Dumbledore, he was sure he wouldn't return to Hogwarts -at all, and in these last two years as a headmaster he had only a scarce number of personal objects in the castle.

Making Hermione leave his chambers was the most excruciating thing he'd done after calling Lily a mudblood on his fifth year. He hated himself for doing it so, but he knew it needed to happen, and after her tearfully confession about loving Draco, Severus knew he couldn't do that to the poor girl. She needed time to think, Merlin  _he_ needed time to think. It all happened so quickly and suddenly, Severus couldn't find the time to relax in this past school year.  _And to think that after the war I might have a bit piece of mind._

He needed time for himself, and to sort out what exactly was he feeling for Hermione. Being his mate wasn't enough for his rational side of the mind to just go with it and fall deep into the veela magic and into the seductive and entrancing force that connected him to his mate. And he also needed time to develop an even stronger potion that allowed him to be near Hermione without emanating with full force his pheromones and make her far gone on him, as well as to lower his murderous desire to kill any non-related male that dared to step closer to her,  _especially_  his godson. Severus tried with all his might to stop the feelings he was having and to think in something that wasn't his godson's body pressed against the one of his mate.

Even though he was heavily doped with the potion, he could feel raw magic emanating from himself, sparks of electricity barely visible, coming out from his hair. He also was aware of the greyish skin, his fangs sticking out and the probable obsidian eyes. Severus hated it; he hated the thought of being helpless about how he was feeling and being unable to control himself whenever he saw her with someone other than him.

Sighing, he made his way to the Headmaster's office, where he was sure he would find Minerva.

"Severus, I was rather hoping you'd change your mind about leaving Hogwarts after the last time we spoke." Minerva greeted him softly, slight disappointment in her voice, as she saw him with his two suitcases, magically levitating next to him.

Severus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"Minerva I've told you this before. I've no business left here at Hogwarts. I hate to teach imbeciles who don't even know how to brew a proper sleeping draught in their seventh year; year in which they should've already mastered and perfected the basics of potion making." He said, pacing around the office. "And I'm sorry to inform you Minerva, but there are way too many of those kinds of students for my taste. In fact, in all my years as a teacher, there had been only a handful of students I've determined as  _competent_  enough to have the ambition and desire to pursue a career in potions." He said, and Minerva rolled her eyes at him with an expression that read  _Seriously?_

"If you feel that way, I can only wish you luck." She said and placed a hand on his shoulder in an affectionate way. "If you ever feel the need or if you desire to return, you shall be welcomed. This will always be your home, Severus." Minerva told him, and Severus only returned a tight smile in return before parting Hogwarts.

_**September 1999** _

It was inevitable, to fail at trying to stop thinking about Hermione every day Severus thought when he realised it was September ninetieth, day in which his mate would be turning twenty. Every day since their last meeting, Severus would take out a wrinkled photograph of Hermione and stare at it, as if not wanting to forget everything that had happened this last year.

_After being discharged from St Mungo's, Severus went to 12 Grimmauld Place once more, to see if he hadn't left anything substantial in the old building. He decided to go early at dawn, not wanting to encounter anyone and arrived at barely four o'clock in the morning._

_He silenced his footsteps as he went through the house; he didn't know if anyone was living or staying in it and he decided it would be very uncomfortable to encounter anyone,_ _especially_ _Potter. Roaming through the few rooms with open doors, he found himself going inside the drawing room._ _A-ha!_ _Severus though merrily finding an old notebook where he sometimes kept potion's annotations. It was there because he sometimes had to check up on Lupin after a full moon, to document any side effects he had with the Wolfsbane, or if there was any improvement to be made. After opening it and seeing it still had his annotations, Severus made himself leave the place as silently and stealthy as he entered._

 _It wasn't until after school had started, that Severus found his notebook was used as a folder to save some photographs the Order took after the end of the war. Not everybody was in them, and Severus was sure these were trash, and better ones they would keep them elsewhere; most of the photographs were severely taken, and in most, the people in them weren't looking at the camera, but to the others._ _Someone must've forgotten these remnants in here_ _Severus had thought back then._

 _He was about to banish them all, but his eye caught on the only photograph that not only was perfectly taken but the only one in which his mate appeared alone. Hermione was sitting in one of the kitchen's chairs, laughing at something someone probably had said and appeared looking at the camera briefly before turning her head towards her left, a joyful and carefree laugh painted on her expression._ _She seemed happy_ _was the thought Severus had almost every time he gazed into the picture, trying to know what exactly had been said to amuse the witch that much._

He'd zealously kept the photo to himself and vanished all of the rest. And now, being the middle of nowhere in a forest with far too many dangerous creatures and no communication whatsoever, Severus sometimes thought the picture was the only thing that kept him sane.

He'd been months searching alongside Professor Moonshine for the cinnabar stone in the depths of one of Rumania's forest. Deep within, there was a magical entrance to a cave that would lead to the cinnabar. The problem was, for the ingredient to work, it had to be collected at a specific time of the day, and it had to be thoroughly cleaned with dittany to reduce the mercury impregnated to the stone and make it non-lethal. Not to mention, it too had to be pulverised before mixing it with five drops of dragon's blood and left to rest for five days before adding it to the potion to strength the effects and make it last days or even weeks after consumption.

With eleven of those stones, Severus knew he had at least enough ingredients to be supplied for several years before he had to come to Rumania again.

Professor Moonshine was an old colleague of Severus back when he did his apprentice in Potions. He was a few years older than him, but he was one of the few potions masters that Severus considered competent enough to judge him as his equal in that field.

When he sent Professor Moonshine his letter asking for assistance to search for cinnabar stones, he was questioned thoroughly by him before he accepted; not only was it extremely dangerous to find said stone, but if not handled adequately, it was also highly toxic to humans, and being a past Death Eater didn't help his case much. But he was glad Moonshine understood, and now here he was, endangering himself to find the closest thing to a cure to be able to stop looking longingly at a picture of a girl half his age.

_**January 2000** _

Christmas and New Year's decorations still hung in the houses and various stores at Spinner's End. It was only January the second, and many people were still celebrating the arrival of the new millennium. Severus had to vanish the accumulated snow in his entrance discreetly, and he sighed when he entered the grey and aged house. He didn't miss it, and he held a grudge against it and every memory he had to endure while living in there throughout his childhood.

His mother was the first one to leave; she contracted a bad case of black cat flu, and it was too late for her for the healers to do anything. Severus was enraged at first because it happened a few weeks before he finished school, and he knew there was nothing to be done because his father prohibited his mother from doing any magic and so he took her to a cheap and shabby Muggle doctor instead of letting her go to St Mungo's. She was one of the first cases of black cat flu but wasn't reported because they found out she had it years after her death. His father was next, and the only notice he had from his death was a letter from a Muggle bank, informing Severus he was now the legal owner of Spinner's End and a few words of condolences about his father. He later found out he died of a heart attack in a nearby pub he frequented, it happened after a night of drinking excessively and getting into a fight for not wanting to pay. After that, his business with the Dark Lord and his role as a teacher at Hogwarts kept him entertained enough to stay away from his childhood home for a good while.

Severus' mood didn't improve after he cleaned the house that hadn't been inhabited for months, and it only made his headache worse. After settling in, he found himself not being able to concentrate enough on his book, for his eyes kept straying themselves from the pages and focusing instead in the scarlet coloured vial next to the wrinkled photograph of his mate, placed on his nightstand. He had planned on contacting Hermione after his return from Rumania, to tell her to fuck everything and everyone and start a new life together. To give whatever they had - a chance. But the more Severus thought about it; the more stupid and nonsensical the idea sounded to him. Of course, she wouldn't escape with him if he asked her to. Hermione had a life in here, and even though she had admitted (though not verbally), she reciprocated his feelings, she still held an enormous affection towards his bloody godson. A feeling he knew she held since years before he knew she was his mate. Severus sighed for the third time that evening, and opened the vial, letting its contents to numb him and his emotions. He had a meeting with Minerva the next morning about his possible return to Hogwarts and his findings concerning the blinding potion, and he didn't want his personal life to interfere any longer.

_**Ends of August 2000** _

With heavy breathing, Severus woke with a jolt, sweat all over his forehead with his greasy hair plastered against it.  _That was some dream, wasn't it?_ He thought with a scowl and decided it was best to stop wasting any more time and start his day.

Hogwarts' new term would start in just about a week, and Severus still needed to arrange last minute preparations for this year's course. He knew Horace's way of teaching was far different than his and taught how to brew potions, potions which Severus thought they were nothing but a waste of talent and there wasn't a necessity to teach them to the students. But he felt that if the potions were in the book, Horace wasn't the only Potions Master with little to no judgement about the potions that are essential to teaching.

With a pounding headache, Severus stood up from his bed and took a quick, cold shower before starting his day. He didn't care much about the new term students or the old ones he would see again. In fact, he cared little for his return at Hogwarts. He had taken the job once more not only because Minerva pleaded him to after learning Horace would be retiring permanently, but he felt he owned the witch a favour and not only would it take Hermione off his mind, but he also needed some extra money. After the war ended and surprised himself from waking up in St Mungo's and realising he'd made it alive, he planned on selling Spinner's End to buy himself a new house and to open an apothecary.

He felt it was a change he needed, but many savings were spent in trying to find a cure for his veela magic, and he wanted to save some more before realising his plans. Besides, Hogwarts' salary wasn't so awful for a person with no family and who was living alone.

After a quick review, he left his papers and class schedules organised for the new term, and his eyes caught the wrinkled photograph stashed with his annotations lying on his desk. Even with the new potion, he felt his heart flutter with a mix of angst and joy at the sight of the brunette. Almost every day since his last encounter with Hermione, he couldn't stop thinking about what she had said to him. After serious debate, he considered it and decided to believe in the advice she had given him. He still kept a few strands of her hair tucked in one of his containers, and he was slowly detoxicating himself from the potion as he sometimes took out some of her curls and tried to smell it without going berserk form the lack of proximity with his mate.

He hadn't meant to see Hermione that day back in March at the Ministry, and he indeed had not planned to almost lure her to his office at the anniversary. He'd concluded that both occasions were a mistake, and it'd meant nothing. But he also knew, both incidents had been out of his and her control, and not only were his pheromones acting out but his magic as well. He was as dumbstruck as Hermione that day at the Ministry, and even though this whole veela thing was still sometimes a mystery to him, he knew he'd been too long away from her, and that was a consequence of it.

 _But even though I'd promised myself never to see her or talk to her again, whenever we look at each other is as if time hadn't passed at all, and even though I'd taken the veela potion, I could_ _still_ _sense her emotions and feelings. Feelings that haven't changed in spite of the time lapse._

Two weeks passed of much deliverance and pacing around the school grounds, Severus knew he couldn't leave the last conversation he had with Hermione in just that. After weeks of detoxicating himself, he found he wasn't so much as craving her and lusting after his mate with intricate desire to mark her, but he was missing her company, and missing the conversations and meetings they had back in her final school year. Severus found what she'd told him was true, and the more he was away from the potions that repressed and restricted his veela magic, the more he realised the veela inside of him was, in fact, him, and not just another being. If magic had chosen Hermione to be his mate, it wasn't done randomly so, and the things his veela side craved in a mate, where also the things he desired and felt attracted to in a woman. Determined with his idea and a new plan, he returned to the castle without as paying much attention to the few students that passed him on his way to his office.

When dinner had finished, and he was done revising sixth year's homework, he took out one of his finer greyish parchments and started writing furiously in it, pouring his thoughts and feelings.

* * *

_**ROOKIE NATURALIST DISCOVERS NEW BEAST IN ALBANIA** _

_**The novice in magizoologist and Harry Potter's friend, Luna Lovegood, gave the name "Doxifae" to a new beast found in the north of Albania. Mentors Patricia Stimpson, Rolf Scamander, and fellow novice magizoologists Jason Swann, and Miles Bletchley contributed to this discovery. Source says, Ms Lovegood hadn't meant to find the creature, but it flew low in the ground near the Albanian blue-winged Fairy colony and she "stumbled upon it" as she mentions. Furthermore, mentor Stimpson comments that she "had never seen a naturalist as perceptive as Luna before", the exploration was made the day...** _

The article went on, but everyone's eyes were glued on Luna's bright smile that appeared both in the front page of the  _Daily Prophet_  and September's issue of  _The Quibbler_. She had travelled to Albania for three weeks with her fellow magizoologist companions to do some research on an ancient Fairy colony, and while in there she'd stumbled upon a rare creature, similar to that of a Doxy or a Fairy but not quite. After she made annotations of its characteristics and took a photograph, she showed them to the supervisor of the group, and his eyebrows almost went up to the roof when he saw Luna had discovered a new species, then told her it was a tradition for the wizard or witch to find a new creature to name it. Luna named the new species  _Doxifae_ because she felt it was right.

"Yeah, my mentor allowed me to name it, but it was all of us who helped and revise its characteristics and behaviour," Luna said, her smile as big as the one in both the  _Daily Prophet_  and  _The Quibbler_. "It's true you know," She said, her eyes at her friends, "What the article says. After I found the  _Doxifae's_  nest, in a hollow tree nearby, Patricia told me she was not only proud but that I would make a great magizoologist." Her friends looked at her with fine eyes, and Blaise's arm went around her shoulder and planted a kiss on her temple.

"I knew that missing you these past weeks was worth it; you're going to be great Luna! I just know it." Blaise said to her with an affectionate smile and Hermione couldn't help but think this was the first time the Slytherin showed any real emotion to a group of people who weren't his closest friends.

"The thing I don't like about this article is the fact they  _have_  to mention me for something completely unrelated to me whatsoever," Harry said while reading the full article and Ginny had to roll her eyes at him. "Harry, you know these types of things are now going to be appearing in your life more often than not."

"I know Gin, but I don't believe I'll ever get accustomed to all of the attention; besides, it angers me many journalists like Rita Skeeter only add my name to it for the people to see, instead of giving full credit to the others," Harry said grabbing his pumpkin juice and sat on the armchair near the floo network in the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Does this change anything about your apprenticeship?" Hermione asked, trying not to look at the clock. It was a Saturday morning, and Draco had promised her they would go to the beach at noon to have a break in their normal routines, and it was the first time in weeks Hermione felt anxious and excited for doing something that wasn't related to werewolves' regulations and house elf rights.

"No, it doesn't" Luna replied with a soft smile, and it brought Hermione back from her thoughts. "We're just a handful of apprentices, and both mentors Stimpson and Scamander are very flexible about our process of learning. Wizarding naturalists are not as strict as healers, or potioneers; magizoology is more about what we can learn from the fieldwork and our experiences than to have a specific technique to do it. Of course, the theory is critical, and even more when dealing with dangerous beasts and creatures, but Patricia always tells me it's more about what I can bring to the work and the creature than anything else. That's why I'm learning with naturalists who are my age and a bit older; there's no specific order to do it."

"And that's why Luna has to be constantly travelling," Blaise said after the poured Luna and himself a glass of pumpkin juice. "Although I would be grateful if she didn't have to do it any time soon, I believe three weeks have been enough for a while," Blaise said, and Luna gave him a small smile. She had told Hermione and Ginny on one occasion, the thing she didn't like about going to her expeditions with her group was because she missed Blaise terribly, but it was something she  _had_  to do.

The floo alarm suddenly went off, and it alerted them of someone who had entered the building, "Hey," came the voice of Ron from the drawing room, followed by greeting from both Neville and Hannah.

"Ready to go to the Burrow?" Ron asked, helping himself a glass of water.

"Yeah, we were just talking about Luna's finding," Ginny said with a smile, tossing him the newspaper with Luna's photograph in it.

"Blimey Luna! I always had doubts about the nargles, but you're brilliant!" Ron exclaimed, and Luna blushed in embarrassment. Not only her friends doubted such creatures existed, but her mentors had as well looked at her with questioning eyes when she'd brought it up in one of her lessons. She decided to say nothing about it.

"We saw it in the morning, congratulations Luna!" Neville said hugging her, Hannah following next.

"Merlin's balls! Hannah is that what I think it is?" Ginny said, squealing with excitement when Hannah slowly nodded, her cheeks turning a shade darker than Ginny's hair.

"We were going to tell everybody at the Burrow, but I guess it's the same thing." She said giggling and showed everyone her left hand, a big ruby stone with diamonds ring sat on her ring finger, and it shone and sparkled with the sunlight coming from the window.

"Hannah it's gorgeous!" Hermione exclaimed, taking her hand in hers, to see the ruby closely. "When did you get engaged?" Harry asked Neville after hugging him in congratulations.

"Yesterday evening," Neville replied, a big smile on his lips. "We haven't set a date yet; we believe we might stay like this for a while until both our professions let us plan a wedding calmly." He said, his smile faltering, and Hannah nodded in return.

"Even though we're very excited about it, you might not see a wedding for another year or two," Hannah said, trying to smile.

"Oh, it's fine, you don't need to rush anything," Ginny said, hugging the pair once more.

The apparition wards alerted them someone had gone through them, and Hermione rushed to the front door with a smile, knowing who was at the other side of the wood, the conversation with Neville and Hannah lifting her mood even more.

* * *

After a long talk with Blaise at a pub in Muggle London, Draco returned to his manor, only to find his mother and father in the drawing room.

"You've come back." He said to his mother in a welcoming manner, and while she looked at him with surprised eyes, his father only looked at him with wariness.

"Oh Draco," His mother said and hugged him tightly. "You don't know how much I've missed you. You must come with us on our next visit to Paris! Adelaide sends her regards; she was such a wonderful host. There's this new restaurant near Champs- Élysées I know you would love. Hermione too-" "Hello Draco." His father interrupted, and Draco said, "Father." And gave him a curt nod and he suddenly felt the atmosphere denser, and his mother only looked at both her husband and son with disapproving eyes.

"Mother, I would love to hear all about your trip to Paris, but can it wait until dinner? Pansy has requested to see me, and I'm afraid it cannot wait." He said to her before she could scold either him or his father about them still not talking to each other.

"Oh well, yes you may go." She said in a defeated tone and stroked his hand. "Please say hello to Pansy for me and tell her I'll send an invitation for tea this week, I know she's visiting, and it has been a while since I last saw her." Her mother told him, and Draco nodded with a warm smile

"Of course, mother." He said, and with a court, he excused himself towards his chambers.

Being a rich pureblood had its benefits; having a personal floo network in Draco's private chambers was one of them. While Voldemort had taken an intermittent stay in his manor, Draco had thought countless times of escaping through his floo and then just disapparating somewhere far away with his mother. But he knew Voldemort had control all over the floo network and not only would he find him easily, but his dark mark prevented him from making any movement at all without Voldemort knowing of it.

Pansy's face appeared through the flames just like before, and Draco asked "Why don't you just come in all the way? You know our Floo network permits you to visit freely."

"I... preferred if you came instead. I'm doing some packing here in my old room, and I only have today to do it. There have been some arrangements as of lately here at my father's house, and I know his  _fiancée_  is waiting for me to distract myself so that she can put her greedy hands all over my things; I still guard some jewellery my mother left me here. I just don't want to return and see it mysteriously gone. So, I was hoping you would accompany me to Gringotts to keep it safe there along with the rest.

Draco rolled his eyes at her but accepted nonetheless.  _I don't know how many times I told her to do it before something like this would come up_ he thought with a sigh stepping on his fireplace and green flames consumed him.

Pansy's old bedroom was just as Draco last remembered it. It had a big four-poster bed with a whitish pink duvet in the far end of the room next to her bathroom door, in the centre, a small tea table sat, alongside an ottoman chair and a loveseat filled with cushions varying from pink, white and grey. Close to it was the door leading to her balcony, a set of two doors covered in pastel pink curtains covering them, and to the far left of the room, there was the door of her wardrobe room (almost half the size of her bedroom), adjacent to her floo network and a small desk replete of books.  _The walls have changed though,_  Draco though seeing the walls were now painted white, while the floor remained the same walnut wood colour.

"Savouring the memories?" Pansy said mischievously with a sly grin, and Draco decided to ignore her. The last time Draco had come to Pansy's house was in the early summer just after their fifth year, and it was then when he knew if they were going to keep their friendship intact, it was better if they kept it strictly platonic.

"Me? If I remember correctly Parkinson, it was  _you_  who couldn't keep your hands to yourself every time I visited." He said cockily, and she turned her head sideways with a slight " _humph_ " and crossed her arms, but her grin remained.

"Anyway, I came as requested, and I don't mean to sound impolite, but I doubt it was tea the only reason you invited me."

"Oh." She said, and her expression suddenly changed from being playful to a more serious one. "Yes, I invited you here because..." She said trailing off, and she suddenly asked for her house elf. "Vippy," She said, and a small greyish female elf appeared with not-so-ragged black clothes and a small denim blue ribbon on the right side of its head. "Pansy asked for Vippy, Miss?" The elf asked, and Pansy nodded. "Yes. Bring us some tea alongside sandwiches and scones." She said, and the elf nodded enthusiastically "Yes Miss! Vippy will bring it right away!" It said and vanished in an instant.

"Sit please," Pansy asked Draco, and he sat in the loveseat while she took the ottoman chair.

"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Draco asked and Pansy more uncomfortable in her chair.

"I-" She started but was interrupted at the sudden appearance of the elf carrying a silver tray with fancy china and a plate full of scones and cucumber sandwiches.

"Thank you, Vippy." Draco politely said to the elf, and its cheeks turned a soft shade of pink before looking uncertainly at Pansy who looked funny at Draco. He shrugged his shoulders and seeing no harm was done; the elf disappeared again.

"You've become quite odd ever since you started seeing Granger," Pansy said and poured them both a cup of tea.

"If by odd you mean polite then yes, I might have." He said with a smirk and took a bit out from a sandwich. "Anyhow, I didn't mean to interrupt. You were saying?" Draco asked, and Pansy cleared her throat and nervously bit her lip. Draco noticed this and eyed her suspiciously.

"Does Kasper still...?" He started, but Pansy quickly interrupted him "No!" She exclaimed, a bit too loud for Draco's liking, "It's not that!" She said, her eyes looking down, "What you saw at your birthday party, won't happen  _again_." She said almost to herself, "It doesn't have to do with it."

"Then what is it?" Draco asked, and Pansy's eyes filled with tears.

"Draco... I'm pregnant." She said bluntly, and he started coughing, having almost choked on the tea.

"You're what?"

"What you heard, Draco. I'm not repeating myself." Pansy said and took a sip from her cup.

"Is it Kasper's?" He asked already knowing the answer, and Pansy looked at him indignantly,

"What do you mean  _"Is it Kasper's?"_  Of course, it is you twit! Who do you take me for? I know I've enjoyed the company of other men before, but I'm no tart! I've been with no one else for months! Yes, it's Kasper's." She said stressing the last part with a face and Draco apologised.

"How long have you known?" He asked, his eyes going straight to her still-flat stomach.

"About two weeks now. I figured I got pregnant by the ends of June or beginnings of July."

"But didn't you use...?" Draco started, and Pansy wanted nothing more but to slap her friend.

"Yes Draco, I've been using the contraception charm; I've known how to use it ever since I was fourteen for Merlin's sake. The thing is... I..." She trailed off, and her eyes began to water. "Kasper's married." She choked back a sob and finally broke down crying, her eyes looking down at her lap.

"But didn't you live with him?" Draco asked, and Pansy nodded and blew her nose with her tissue. "That's the thing," She said between sobs, "He owns a lot of properties, and one of them is the manor of his... of his wife and kids in northern Austria. Apparently, his older son just began his first year at Durmstang."

Draco was shocked by Pansy's revelation, he knew Kasper was at least ten or twelve years older than them, but he never pinned the bloke to have a double life and Pansy to be the mistress without her knowing anything about it. All he could do was to remain silent and let his friend continue to vent; She _must've been keeping this all in for a while now_

" _Naturally_ , Kasper never told me about it." She said, her eyes watering and she raised her eyes to stop the tears from falling. "I won't get much in detail but, let's just say I was curious enough to find the information I needed to affirm my suspicions. I..." Pansy trailed off her argument, and her hand went absentmindedly towards her stomach. "I promise I wasn't trying to get pregnant on purpose, or in revenge, Draco." She said, eyes glistening with tears pierced his, " I  _thought_  that if Kasper only wanted  _me_ , then maybe he would leave her. Of course, naïve as I was, I didn't think that maybe that's why he was with me in the first place, that his wife didn't satisfy him. So, I... started slipping him everyday bits of lust potion, so he would only want  _me_." Pansy declared, and Draco looked at his friend, eyes widening with realisation.

"And as you must already know, lust potions interfere with contraception charms, and voilà, I'm pregnant," Pansy said, not looking at Draco, and she blew her nose with her whitish-pink handkerchief.

"I don't know what to say I-" Draco tried to say, but he was at loss of words. "I mean, does Kasper know?" "No!" Pansy exclaimed too quickly and then added, "I haven't had the chance to tell him yet, I don't know how he will react. I don't want to confess about the lust potions, but I don't want him to think I did it on purpose either."

"Pansy, I don't want to be the bad bloke here, but I seriously think you should be with a man who will respect you and to love anyone else but you. And I seriously doubt Kasper is that man."

"And what do you suggest I do? Leave him? Draco I'm having  _his_ child! I can't just leave him and take my child's right to know his or her father! Besides, I don't have enough money saved to raise a child on my own." Pansy replied, the last part with a low tone.

"Who cares about fucking money? If you needed to, I could give you all the galleons you needed for you and your child to live a more-than-decent-life, and didn't your father give you money?" Draco said, getting irritated about the argument,  _this is going nowhere_

"Thank you for you offer Draco, I don't want to undermine it, but for the moment I don't need it. But I know I can count on you for anything." She said with a sincere smile at her friend, "And no," She said, her voice took a more sombre tone, "Ever since that bitch lives with my father, she has made sure to convince him I can take care of myself, and he just gave me enough to buy my flat in France and nothing else." She said with a tight smile. "It's not that I depend on him or anybody else to survive, but I'm sure the galleons he gave me were sort of a bribe for me never to bother again while he was with his new  _wife_."

Draco held his friend in a warm embrace, and Pansy let her tears out for what seemed hours. He knew she was holding it in and he felt sorrowful about the closest persons she had in her life. A boyfriend who apparently didn't love her and was hiding another family, and a father who was too easily influenced by the women in his life to care enough about her daughter who was in desperate need of affection.

"I know you're having Kasper's child," Draco said after he let go of her, "But I truly believe you deserve so much better than that, not only for you but your child as well. And I'm certain you'll find him someday, a man who'll cherish you and love you," Draco said flashing her a smile, "Just wait and see." He said, and Pansy smiled a bit, tears falling down her cheeks. He wasn't accustomed about sharing any those things, for anyone except Hermione, his mother, and maybe Blaise when the time needed it, but Pansy was one of his closest and oldest friends, and he felt it wasn't fair to her the situation she was in.

"You know," Pansy said, taking Draco out of his thoughts, "This may be the only time I say this, but Granger is a lucky witch for having you as a partner. And even though she talks way too much about books and politics for my taste, I do believe you two are perfect for each other." Pansy said, and before Draco could say anything, they were already on their way towards Gringotts.

* * *

_**I don't want any more lies, no more half-truths from you, for I want you to know my heart is not impervious of you. I can't stop these images and visions I have, nor I'm able to stop myself from thinking about you most evenings when I can't escape from my thoughts. Sometimes I find myself wondering why haven't I asked you before if you don't know the way I feel, as if you couldn't read between the lines for what's real? I'm tired of pretending this never happened, leaving before we could say what was on our minds at the moment, refusing to say how we felt, fearing it would be something real.** _

_**You might regard my letter as something unusual and bizarre, and I too accept this isn't something I'm accustomed to.** _

_**To put it in simple words, what I'm asking of you is to abandon all thought or feeling that might go against it and let yourself be immersed in this new experience. We're past a point where we can't risk making any more backward glances, and we have to end whatever game it is we were playing before. I know I was selfish and irrational in the past, but as time goes by, I haven't given a thought about my mortality, but I've found myself missing your company. I ask you to leave any idea about if or when anything will happen because that's not the way I want this to go.** _

_**All I ask of you is another opportunity to know each other better.** _

_**Please owl me if you desire us to meet.** _

_**Sincerely,** _

_**S.S.** _

Hermione re-read the letter for the ninth time now, her eyes glued to the letters inked to the paper and the heavy meaning they implied. She couldn't shake away the feeling that the letter gave her.  _Does this mean...?_  She thought, her mind refusing to finish the sentence clinging in her mind ever since she received the letter four days prior, and she still had to respond to it.

When she first received the letter, she thought it was only another greeting letter, congratulating her for her birthday, but when she saw it had no sender she began doubting it was from someone she knew, but the instant Hermione removed the sealing and opened it, she knew instantly who it was from. Hermione had to stop herself from smelling the letter, for she could detect the scent of an apothecary impregnated on the paper, and the only-too-familiar handwriting was enough to make her leave the office on time, rather than to stay a few hours later as she sometimes used to.

She sat on her bed for hours, thinking over and over about what to do about the letter. She knew she had to tell Draco about it because she didn't want to keep secrets from him, but then, why did she felt a strange feeling of guilt for just thinking about it.

 _He wants us to meet only, right? There shouldn't be anything to worry about._ Hermione though while she bit her lip. She felt torn about it, and after hours of thinking it over, she felt like she floated in a feeling she couldn't quite place. And with determination, and forgetting everything else, she took a parchment and a quill and quickly wrote her answer before she owled it back.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you soon ;)


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